THE MID-FACE LIFT
INTRODUCTION: Facial rejuvenation is at the top of the list of the most common aesthetic surgical procedures performed by your surgeon at Orange County Plastic Surgery. Most people feel physically and mentally vigorous and energetic long after their appearance has begun to deteriorate due to aging. A face, neck, brow or mid-face lift procedure is designed to provide you with a rejuvenated appearance. The degree of improvement achieved depends on the severity of the initial deformity, the age of the patient, tissue elasticity and the recommended procedure.
 A youthful face is normally curvilinear with graceful curves and with fullness in the upper mid-face region. The lower lids appear tight and are short vertically. As faces age, the soft tissues inevitably drop – the upper cheek tissues descend, creating jowls, a hollowness in the cheek region, and an elongated lower eyelid. The neck skin and muscles loosen as well. As patients age, the central neck becomes fuller and the jaw lines become blunter, loosing the crisp distinction between the neck and jaw seen in youth. Sun damage causes the skin to wrinkle and assume a weathered look.
The traditional face lift is wonderful for dealing with jowls and the neck line. It was designed to pull the skin and superficial muscles backwards to minimize the jowl and to tighten the neck areas, but this procedure does not address the elongated lower eyelid and the hollowness in the mid-face region. As a matter of fact, the tension required to pull the cheek tissues backward actually flattens the mid-face region, further exacerbating the unnatural and definitely anything but youthful look! In some instances of minor neck laxity, the neck may be tightened by inserting a variety of threads beneath the surface and restoring neck laxity in cases of minor laxity. Such minimal incision, thread procedures will not give a patient an optimal result if significant laxity is present, along with a significant skin excess.
The new mid-face or cheek lift procedures specifically address this central facial hollowness and works to restore a curvilinear, youthful facial appearance. This is accomplished two short stab wounds along the fold between the upper lip and cheek, and traditional lower lid blephaparoplasty incisions under the lower lash lines. Through these access incisions, the surgeon can elevate the tissues which have drifted downward, back into a more youthful position, with suspension sutures. The aging face can thus be sculpted tension-free to recreate the soft and graceful curves of youth. Some patients, usually those who are younger with aging limited to the mid-face region, or those who have already had a traditional facelift, will benefit from a mid-face/cheek lift as a sole procedure. Others may best be served with a mid-face lift combined with a traditional lift or other associated procedures in order to achieve the optimal result!
BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS
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A year post traditional facelift with satisfactory jowl line but still with jowls and midface laxity. Photos before and after midface lift. |
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Juris Bunkis, MD, FACS
email:bunkis@ocps.com
Orange County Plastic Surgery
30212 Tomas, Suite 275
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Phone: (866) 457-1293
Fax: (949) 888-9724
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