Endoscopic or Traditional Mid Face Lift for Cheek Lifting?

When we say cheek lift, we generally mean a facelift not a midface lift. There are a number of midface procedures done through the open facelift. They are disasterous for someone your age. Virtually all of the involve lift the orbicularis oculi off the zygoma with causes nerve injury to the orbicularis oculi muscle of the lower eyelid. Then there are a number of midface procedures done through the temple. The risk here is that again the nerves supplying the orbicularis oculi can be harmed. Also the deep fat overlying the zygoma and extending into the temple can be damaged by the surgical dissection. The effect is loss of volume in the temple and over the top of the zygoma. This makes it look like some took a bit out of the side of the face.

Yes it is possible to have these procedures with less damage but I do not seem so many results like that. Also the purpose of the procedure is to moblilize the cheek (malar fat) and pull it up toward the temple. Well it turns out that it is not suppose to go there. The result is more than a little unnatural. Can these various procedure be done endoscopically. The answer is sure. However using a smaller hole to get the job done does not necessarily make the surgery better, it just makes it harder to perform.

For someone like yourself who is 30 with under eye hollowing, the best answer to date has been filling under the eyes with Restylane.

At 30, it’s completely understandable to want subtle yet effective facial rejuvenation, especially when dealing with early cheek sagging and hollow eyes. An endoscopic midface lift is often recommended for younger patients like you, particularly when there’s minimal skin laxity, and the focus is on lifting the cheek fat pads and improving the lower eyelid–cheek junction.
That said, your concern is valid:

If it is volume you want, then use fat grafting.  It is safe and effective, with minimal incisions,  and will look very natural.  This can be combined with a mini face lift for further rejuvenation. 

As some of the other answers point out, there are many ways to do a mid-face lift, though I am not sure what a "classic" mid-face lift is. I do mine in a sub-periosteal plane though a temporal incision. The youngest patient I have done was 42. I would think that your problems is more related to fat loss in the face. You do not mention if you have had significant weight loss leading up to this. With out seeing photos of you it is hard to know. I general I think that 30 is too young to undergo a major facial rejuvenation surgery and would suggest either fat grafting or soft tissue fillers. I hope this helps.

Over the past 30 years we have developed several types of "minface" or cheeklifts. There are two basic types: 1. Thru the temple 2. Thru the eyelid
Which of these is right for your situation is the key. Some patients only need a small amount of lift and have a normal lower lid without extra skin. I use a temple incision and endotine for this group. However, most have excess skin and or fat in the lower lids and in these patients I use a lid incision with a different endotine that is fixed to the bone. Excess skin and or fat is removed at the same time.

I would agree with your statemet that the success can be related to the experience of the surgeon. However, there are many other factors including the method of fixation. In general, with the traditional approach, more rigid fixation is possible and therefore it tends to be easier to achiev a longer lasting result.