Midface Mini Lift

Are you in your late 30’s to early 40’s? Do you see the upper portions of your aging face starting to descend? Have you noticed it started with your brow, then your eyes, and has now hit your cheeks? Do you wonder if you’re a candidate for a midface mini lift?

Do you see a drooping and flattening effect on your upper cheeks? Is it creating a drawn, hollow look under your eyes? Do you wish to restore the seamless contour from your lower eyelids to youthfully elevated cheeks?

If you find yourself identifying with this situation, you are likely a good candidate for a midface mini lift or cheek augmentation surgery. If you’re tired of the maintenance of regular tissue filler injectable treatments and want a more permanent and effective solution, but aren’t ready for a traditional face/neck lift, you are also a great candidate.

How Does a Mini Lift Alter My Appearance?

As you age and your skin becomes less elastic, your eyebrows and cheeks droop. As a result, the contours of your cheeks flatten. Folds and creases in the skin between your nose and mouth (i.e., nasolabial folds) become accentuated. Crow’s feet wrinkles deepen at the outer corners of your eyes.

The midface or cheek lift is often considered a “baby step” in the spectrum of chin rejuvenation surgeries. Midface mini lift surgery, in the hands of Dr. Macdonald, is designed to:

  • Re-establish youthful cheek volume and contour
  • Soften or eliminate deep, pronounced nasolabial folds
  • Elevate the lateral aspect of your eyebrows
  • Soften crow’s feet wrinkles at the outer corners of your eyes

What this relatively minor procedure won’t do:

  • Tighten jowls
  • Eliminate marionette lines (at corners of the mouth)
  • Eliminate neck bands or wrinkles

If these are your goals, you should consider a more traditional facelift.

What Do I Do Before Cheek Lift Surgery?

Before surgical treatment to lift your midface or cheeks, consult the surgical recovery chart to plan appropriately for adequate healing downtime. Thorough planning and compliance with pre-surgical instruction are just as important as post-op instruction compliance.

Mini Lift Surgery Details

A midface (upper cheek) mini lift surgery restores youthful elevation and fullness to your cheeks, smooths folds, and wrinkles in your midface and crow’s feet, and takes several years off your appearance.

  • A small incision is placed inside the mouth on each side to approach the cheeks from below. A second incision is hidden just within the hairline above your ears. In this way, all incisions are completely hidden from view.
  • Dr. Macdonald repositions and suspends the soft tissue of the cheek pads in a more elevated, youthful position, creating a seamless contour between lower eyelid and cheek, and softening the nasolabial folds.
  • Surgery takes 2 hours.

The effects of a midface “mini lift” commonly last 7-10 years before you’re likely to want any additional aesthetic rejuvenation procedures in this area.

Other Surgeries Combined With Mini Lift

To achieve holistically blended, natural looking chin rejuvenation results, it’s often helpful to combine surgical procedures. This generally achieves the most optimal effect.

Given that the upper regions of your face exhibit the first effects of aging, midface lifts are most often combined with brow lifts and eyelid surgery to address both chin areas simultaneously.

Mini Lift Healing and Recovery

  • Post-surgical pain and discomfort is minimal
  • Swelling and bruising is normal within the first 3-7 days post-op.
  • Any non-dissolvable sutures or staples (above the hairline) are removed 5-7 days post-op.
  • You can expect to resume work and other non-strenuous daily activities within 5-7 days
  • Conservatively resume high-intensity physical activities
  • You are healed within 3-6 months

Read more after treatment tips for how best to manage healing following a mini lift, sometimes referred to as cheek suspension surgery or cheek lift. Download this surgery’s specific Post-Op Instruction Sheet to be sure you’ve covered all the bases for an optimal healing experience.

Non-Surgical Alternatives to a Midface Lift

Injectable dermal fillers also effectively deliver improvement in volumization of the midface and cheeks and restore youthful contour. Suitable fillers used in our center include Restylane®, JUVEDERM®, Perlane, and Radiesse®.

This non-surgical approach to treatment is relatively painless. Downtime is negligible with instantly gratifying results. The downside of this option is that sustaining your desired look requires maintenance treatments every 8-12 months. Still, this may be a suitable alternative for you.