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.

I am not sure what you mean by a "traditional" mid-face lift since there are so many different approaches. One of the early signs of aging is descent of the fat pad in the cheeks, with skin laxity coming later. The idea of the endoscopic approach is to reshape the cheek by lifting the fat pad without tugging on the skin. There are ways of doing this without the endoscope, though my vote would be for that technique in a young person like you. Alternatively, some people do very well with something simple like fat injections or dermal fillers (Restylane, Juvederm).

Thank you for your question. Endoscopic
facelifts, though not being as mainstream as open surgery, are minimally
invasive procedures which presents many advantages to younger people who are
not in need of a major surgery. It has a very limited effect on the neck and
jowl region, but allows patients to have a lower risk of potential nerve damage
and is very effective in dealing with minor facial deformities such as cheek
sagging. It cannot, however, be used to perform neck lifts or major operations
which would normally require a facelift procedure. Therefore, for people who
are in need of a facelift but do not require or want the invasiveness of open
surgery, endoscopic surgery is a good option. 

I prefer to treat the midface area with volumization - adding fat, cheek implant or fillers to the area - rather than surgical manipulation via midface lifting techniques.  I have performed endoscopic and traditional midface lifting techniques in the past but found that the results from adding volume to the area are just as good or better and with less trauma.  The fact that they can be reversible is an added safety feature as well.  My suggestion would be to avoid a midface lift.

At 30 years of age there is not much sagging in the cheeks present. The mid-facelift whether done open or endoscopically tends to bunch up the cheek skin and make the eye smaller in appearance and Asian.
The aging process of the cheeks shows a loss of volume of fat and a slight amount of descent of the cheeks. The descent of the cheeks is known as jowls and can be re-suspended with a traditional face-neck lift say at age 50.
A much better alternative to the mid-facelift is a volumetric reestablishment of the cheek through cheek augmentation. This is a simple, effective, reversible operation whereby implants are placed on the maxilla of the cheeks through the intraoral root. There are many different sizes and shapes that can be used depending upon the patient’s needs, wants and desires. They can be placed in the malar area or the submalar area depending upon where the loss of volume has occurred. These are totally reversible and can be removed or replaced if ever needed. This is a much better option than mid-face-lifting.