Midface Lift No doubt yo u're quite familiar with what a faceli ft does. However, you might not be as familiar with a variation of the faceli ft known as a midface lift .This procedure is comparatively new to the facial cosmetic su rgeon's repertoire, having been around only since the early 1990s. In fact, not every facial plastic surgeon performs a midface lift.
What Is a Midface Lift?
A midface lift restores the rounded facial contours with a surgical procedure that li ft s and repositions the soft tissues between your eyes and mouth - the midface .The procedure improves hollows under your eyelids, raises your sagging cheeks, and smoothes your nasal furrows. The procedure is sometimes called a cheek lift or a vertical lift because in most cases surgeons pull the soft tissues almost straight up and reposition them above your cheekbones. Unlike a traditional facelift, a midface lift is usually done endoscopically, using a probe with a tiny camera and requiring very small incisions.
How long will a midface lift last? Of course, the results vary with each person; however, a midface lift should last five or six years. Lifestyle and skin care play a role in maintaining the results of a midface lift procedure.
Are You a Candidate?
Do you have sagging cheeks? Deep nasolabial folds? Do you have hollows or bags under your eyes or a scowling expression because the corners of your lips are downturned? If so, a midface lift might be an option for you. Men and women in their forties and older can enjoy the benefits of this p ro cedure, as can people in their thirties who have hereditary midface flaws or early signs of aging.
A midface lift alone works best on people who wish to reverse signs of aging in the midface area.
The midface lift also works well as a follow-up procedure for those who have had previous lower facelifts. In fact, up to a third of midface lift patients are men or women who have already had facelifts but need another lift to the midface. Keep in mind that a midface lift does not remove sagging skin of the lower face or neck.
Your Midface Lift Procedure
Once you're fully sedated, your surgeon will lift at least the cheek fat pads to a position over the cheekbones and suspend them with sutures f ro m a deeper structure, probably the muscles or deep tissues in your temple area. In a more extensive procedure, the buccal fat pad, those in the lower part of the face, and the fat pads under the eyes, known as the suborbicularis oculi fat (SOO F) , are also repositioned. This variation on the procedure is often called a SOOF lift.
Incision placement depends on the technique being used. Incisions may be made on the inside or the outside of the lower eyelid. Or the doctor might make a series of small incisions above your hairline and possibly on the inside of your upper lip. Some midface lift procedures include small incisions above the ears.The operation will probably take 60 to 90 minutes.
Surgeons also may perform midface li ft s through incisions used in lower eyelid surgery. A less invasive method, midface suspension, involves lifting the cheek pads with suture loops a tt ached at the temples.
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