Midface Lift for Someone with Chubby Cheeks?

for considered comment. It is unlikely a 4th opinion will differ hugely from the body of opinion you have already sought!

If you want a more directed answer, consider posting with your photograph.  I would be very careful about anyone "defatting" your cheeks.  A well meaning surgeon might actually try to do what you are asking.  The aesthetic results are likely to be a problem. I would proceed with extreme caution.

     That may be appropriate, but it is very hard to evaluate you with a description alone.   An exam or photos would be indicated to help address your issues.  Just from your description, your consultants seem to be telling you the same thing.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

A true midface lift is designed to resuspend the malar fat pad in individuals that have experienced signficant sagging of the cheek mound.  The most predicatable, powerful and enduring results are achieved using a dual approach from both the temple and from the mouth.  Dissection is performed at the bone level to widely release the cheek mound from its bony attachments.  The cheek mound is then resuspended in the most vertical direction possible using the deep temporalis fascia as an anchor point. 

The midface lift is not suitable in all individuals and from what you describe this may the case with you.  Photos would be very helpful.

Mario J. Imola, MD, DDS, FRCSC.

By your descriprtion and consultations, you have raised a good question. Would defatting alone be helpful, would a cheeklift be helpful, or would some combination be best? This is where photos can be enormously useful as I have found that patient's description of 'chubby cheeks' can be highly variable with slightly different facial locations. I would also not completely disregard facial implant augmentation, it is just that the traditional shape of cheek implants may not be best... not that some underlying augmentation may not be helpful in combination with a lift.

Without photos the best I can do is consider you rather typical for a chubby face. As a general rule it is imprudent to add the volume of cheek implants to an already chubby face. If everything is sagging as you described, a midface lift with very  careful defatting can be done. Sometimes removal of buccal fat can help to further define the cheeks and jaw. Additional liposuction of the neck with attention to the jawline can further help to define the lower face. Although it seems counter- intuitive in a chubby face, fat grafting may also help to redistribute the fat to important areas such as the cheeks, nasolabial folds, marionette lines and the lips. I hope this info is helpful in your search for a Plastic Surgeon.

 No, not in my opinion.  I do not like the aesthetic results of the Mid FaceLift as it tends to lift and reposition the cheek tissues so they are full laterally, which widens the face.  Aestheically this is a very "odd" look that broadens the face.  The fuller the facial tissues, of the cheek, the greater this effect.  So, in my opinion, this effect could be quite exaggerated in your particular case.

 The face should be shaped, during the Face Lift, by removing the excess fatty tissue...not by suspending or pulling it up and back.  That's the purpose of manipulating the SMAS layer...to lift the tissues up and back.  I prefer minimally invasive version of Face Lifts, with facial shaping.  Hope this helps.

Without an exam and photo it is hard to answer your concerns. A mid facelift is a great procedure for patients with a deep nasolabial crease as you have mentioned. We also look at your orbit vector ( bone, eye and soft tissue relationship) as well.i would recommend you take some of the advice you have been given. All the best.

A photo of you would certainly be beneficial in this instance, but generally speaking individuals with heavy faces make less ideal midface lift and facelift candidates. It is simply harder to re-drape thick skin flaps as effectively or dramatically as we can do in those individuals with thinner flaps.  Not to say you might not benefit from a lift, but make sure you are very realistic in your expectations.  And while we offer Coolsculpting and liposuction on other regions of your body, fat reduction techniques are typically avoided on the cheeks. So I wouldn't recommend cheek liposuction or removing part of your buccal fat pad either.  Good luck! 

You would be wise to listen, and take the advice of the 3 Plastic Surgeon's you have consulted with.  Surgery is serious and should not be taken lightly.  Once you decide on a surgeon, follow his post operative instructions for your best result.