21 years old, flattened face after weight loss: do I need a mini facelift, facial fat transfer or cheek implant? (photo)

Question

Hello doctors, I am 21 and have not been keeping well since the last year I have lost weight and it has led to the flattening of my face, it seems long and narrow now My cheeks have received creating a hollow under the eyes and a bulge around my lips, my tear troughs look more pronounced I don't like my face bcoz it looks terrible I have a long philtrum at that, all of these cumulatively make me look old and weary Do I need a mini facelift or a facial fat transfer or a cheek implant, thankyou

Nelson Lee Novick, MD · Answer

Take heart. In experienced hands, one treatment session using an appropriate volumizing filler for the cheeks would likely both significantly improve the cheek flattening that you dislike and improve the under eye tear troughs and hollows. It's been dubbed the "domino effect" by my European colleagues because treating one location of the face with filler can have a domino-like improvement in adjacent areas, in this case treating the cheek improves not only the cheek, but results in lifting of the lower cheek region, as well, and lends support to the under eye area leading to improvement in the hollows and the tear troughs. Surgical lifts are expensive, aggressive and invasive and engender real downtime. And fat transfer, which I gave up performing several years back carries with it several drawbacks. For one one, most of the fat, separated from the donor sites of the belly, buttocks or thighs, does not survive once separated from its original blood supply. Moreover, it is a relatively expensive, two step minimally invasive process that entails large cannula withdrawal of the donor fat and large cannula transfer into the recipient locations--all of which means real downtime. And finally, any fat that does survive retains the characteristics of the location from which it is taken meaning that if belly fat develops a midriff bulge with aging, so, too, can the belly fat transferred into the face. Make sure that you consult with a board certified cosmetic dermatologist and best of luck.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

This is my expertise and a huge portion of my practice. Asymmetry is normal and expected. See an expert who does facial shaping with surgical and non surgical methods to get a comprehensive option. Best, Dr. Emer.

21 years old, flattened face after weight loss: do I need a mini facelift, facial fat transfer or cheek implant? (photo)

Answers (2)

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21 years old, flattened face after weight loss: do I need a mini facelift, facial fat transfer or cheek implant? (photo)

Answers (2)

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Cheek Lift

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.