As we age, our entire face and our entire neck sags and droops. From the top of our forehead to the bottom of our neck, the years take their toll, robbing us of our freshness and our vitality of appearance.

The midface is the area between the lower eyelids and the mouth. Over time, gravity, repeated muscle contraction, and lifestyle choices cause the skin, fat, and muscle to sag downwards. Sagging of the mid face accentuates aging changes around the mouth, cheek and chin. This results in apparent puffiness in the lower eyelids, under eye circles (tear trough deformity), deepening of the line between the nose and the corner of the mouth (nasolabial fold), sagging cheeks, and thinner lips with down-turned corners.

For many years, cosmetic facial surgeons have concentrated on the forehead and eyelids (the upper third of the face) with procedures such as browlifts and eyelid lifts. They have also emphasized treatment of the jowls, turkey waddle, and the neckline (the lower third of the face) with facelifts and necklifts. Only very recently was needed attention finally given to the mid face where new techniques have been developed to address the age-related changes to this vital area. After all, does anyone really want an improvement in just 2/3 of their face? If you are rejuvenating the upper and the lower face, wouldn’t it be better to complete the job with a mid face lift?

The mid face lift elevates the cheek, skin, fat, and muscle vertically to compensate for gravity’s downward pull. The goal is to restore the mid face to its proper, youthful location and to correct sagging cheeks, smooth out nasal furrows, pull up the down-turned corners of the lips, and relieve under eye hollowness and eye circles (tear trough deformity).

Cheek bags can be very distressing to any individual. I commonly see patients with these who request lower eyelid surgery. By demonstrating that these bags are actually below the lower lids and below the bony orbital rim, I am able to demonstrate the need for a mid face lift, not eyelid surgery, in order to relieve their problem and to restore their appearance. In my hands, these are some of my happiest patients! It is a real joy that I am able to help them and to correct a problem which has caused them so much anxiety and distress.

See Clinical Descriptions of Selected Patients in Photo Galleries:
Mid Face Lift Surgery Before and After Photos

Other names for a mid face lift include midface lift, vertical lift, cheek lift and SOOF lift. Thread lifts such as the Feather Lift and the Silhouette Lift also may be used to address the aging changes of the mid face but they do not provide the full vertical improvement of a true mid face lift procedure.

While there are several different approaches to the mid face, the goals of the surgery are to suspend the deep structures vertically to correct cheek descent, and to restore the natural convexity and fullness of the lower eyelids, cheek and mid face, while greatly reducing the unsightly furrows of the nasolabial folds and of the tear trough. Whether done at the same time as upper and/or lower facial and eyelid procedures, a mid face lift will produce a natural, youthful, rested appearance without looking overdone or excessively pulled.

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Why not contact the Center for Cosmetic Facial and Eye Plastic Surgery or call for a consultation today? You will be glad that you did!