How can I get rid of under eye /upper cheek crease? Is it a festoon/malar bag? (photos)

Question

What type of treatment can get rid of this facial crease? It appears to be more noticeable when I am tired.

Jonathan Kulbersh, MD · Answer

Under eye creases and bags can be permanently corrected with surgery or temporarily camouflaged with fillers (Restylane, Belotero, Volbella).There are great non-surgical options to fill in under eye depressions and hollowness. Using dermal fillers, a liquid eye-lift can be performed. A dermal filler such as Restylane would be placed in the cheek and tear trough to hide the depression or bag underneath your eye.
Surgery would require a fat-repositioning lower lid blepharoplasty. In this surgical procedure, fat from the eye area is moved into the tear trough depression filling the actual depression. 
I hope this helps!

Adam Scheiner, MD · Answer

Dear Curious,
  
It appears that you have evidence of fullness in the lower eyelid region and festoons/malar mounds on the cheek as well. These changes can make a person appear tired, sick and older even when they feel fine inside. 
  
Many people who undergo lower eyelid surgery to improve the appearance of their lower lids are dissatisfied afterwards because of one factor which can complicate the results from lower 
  
Festoons and Malar moudns are a medical condition in which the skin of the lower eyelid becomes significantly damaged, usually by the sun. This damaged skin can result in folds in the lower eyelids and can lead to swollen mounds on the cheeks. They often occur with age and are more common in people with lighter skin types.
  
Festoons occur in many people seeking lower eyelid rejuvenation and if not corrected at the time that lower lid surgery is performed, the condition can become exacerbated and make the lower eyelids look worse after surgery.
  
The reason then why many people are dissatisfied after undergoing lower eyelid surgery to improve the appearance of their lower lids is the result of two main issues:
  
Swelling that occurs in the face after lower eyelid      surgery often accumulates in the lower eyelid region and can take a while      to resolve.
  The subconscious brain      constantly looks for balance in a face,      and when lower eyelid fullness and festoons exist they are seen to belong      together, as both are usually age-related phenomena. When only one is then      corrected (usually the lower eyelid bags), the other is seen in even      greater contrast.  The subconscious brain then focuses in on this      condition and tells the conscious brain the face is out of balance.
 Festoons and malar mounds have been a frustration for surgeons for many years. Thanks to the initial work of Dr. Sterling Baker (a person with whom I trained) and my own improvement and refinement on that work over the last decade, I now have a sophisticated, technically-challenging but effective treatment for festoons and malar mounds.
  
Many people don’t fully understand or recognize the differences between these two conditions. The first difference is in their cause or etiology; festoons are a result of sun-damaged skin on the lower eyelid and on the cheek and are believed to be affected by underlying contrasting muscle forces over the years of a person’s life.
  
In contrast, lower eyelid bags are due to age-related fat protruding through the skin in the lower eyelid region. New research has shown that fat can grow and atrophy during our lives in asymmetric ways. The growth of fat in the orbit around the eye along with atrophy of fat in the facial regions around the eye, as well as weakness in some of the orbital containing structures, contribute the fullness we see in the lower eyelid with age.
  
For some individuals, this fat shows up at a very young age and this is believed to a result of genetic changes in the development of the eye area in those individuals.
  
The second difference is the location on the face where they form. Lower eyelid festoons can be seen primarily on the cheek with some presence in the lower eyelid region.  Lower eyelid bags are located directly below the lower eyelid lashes and are noticed to become more prominent when someone with these bags looks upwards.  Conversely, festoons are minimally affected when a person looks upwards.
  
The third difference is the feel of these conditions when they are touched. Festoons are squishy and can be made to move side to side. Lower eyelid bags are firmer, deeper in location beneath the skin and can’t be moved easily side to side when touched.
  
 It is important to understand the differences between these two conditions. The best rejuvenation and most natural results occur when both eyelid bags and festoons are corrected simultaneously.
  
I'll include some links below.
  
I hope this was helpful.

Jennifer Janiga, MD, FAAD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  This area is a common area for volume loss.  The lower part of the "crease" can be treated with a thicker filler like Voluma while the part of the crease closer to the eye will need a thinner filler like Volbella or Restylane.  Please see a provider with experience injecting around the eyes as this area has a very small margin for error.  That being said, my patients love having this corrected and the results usually last well past a year.

Elliot W. Jacobs, MD · Answer

Thanks for your inquiry.  It appears that you may have enlarged fat bags under the eye rather than a festoon, which is usually further lateral.  Large, protruding fat bags can occur -- even in a younger person -- and they make you look tired and haggard.Fortunately, surgical treatment of the fat bag can remove them and restore a smoother cheek for you.Speak with a board certified plastic surgeon.  Good luck!  Check out my website captioned below for further info about eyelid surgery.Elliot W. Jacobs, MD, FACSNew York City

Amit Gupta, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Thank for your question, it is typical malar festoon and can be treated with fine dermal fillers. Filler will be done just below the eye to fill the hollowness and below the bulge where it is creating a crease. It will give a finer cheek look.

How can I get rid of under eye /upper cheek crease? Is it a festoon/malar bag? (photos)

Answers (5)

Answer: Cheek crease treatment

Answer: Cheek crease treatment

Answer: Under eye crease

Answer: Under eye crease

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How can I get rid of under eye /upper cheek crease? Is it a festoon/malar bag? (photos)

Answers (5)

Answer: Cheek crease treatment

Answer: Cheek crease treatment

Answer: Under eye crease

Answer: Under eye crease

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Eyelid Surgery

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