Cheeks are often one of the first parts of our face to show the signs of ageing. Deep lines that stretch from the corners of the nose to the mouth start to appear as gravity slowly wins over any efforts to deny it. The slumping of cheek fat pads, skin and hollows and heaviness beneath our eyes, can make us look older than we feel. Also known as a mid-face lift, a cheek lift can completely rejuvenate your appearance and make you look younger without the full incisions and recovery that goes with a total facelift. Dr Bryan Mendelson, Plastic Surgeon based in Toorak, Melbourne is an expert on natural looking facial cosmetic procedures to rejuvenate our appearance and turn back the clock a few years, so we asked him how he does it.
Mid-cheek procedure
Dr Mendelson says the mid-cheek should be smooth and gently rounded, and not crisscrossed with the grooves and pouches of ageing. “A mid cheek lift gently restores the position of the support layer of the face (beneath the skin) to a more youthful position. The cheeks look smoother, higher and rounder. The junction between the lower lid and the upper cheek is smoothed and lower lid bags and wrinkly skin beneath the eye is corrected. This effect even extends to the corner of the mouth reducing the appearance of those deep lines from the edge of the nose to the outer mouth.”
As with all his other procedures, Dr Mendelson’s technique involves working in the support layers of the face beneath the skin. Simply pulling and tightening the skin is an outdated procedure and results in the notorious “windswept” facelifts that gave them such a bad name in the 90’s and early 00’s.
Indeed, with techniques so much more advanced and successful than they were a decade ago, cheek lifts are a much less invasive and less expensive option than your typical full facelift and are usually associated with less recovery time. Whilst they target a smaller area of your face, they can be often all you need to give your face that freshen up it needs. Of course, seeing such a skilled surgeon as Dr Mendelson can make all the difference as well. The ideal outcome is a subtle and natural looking rejuvenation. Dr Mendelson achieves this so beautifully because of his innate understanding of the human face anatomy. He knows where the muscles and underlying structures of the face are and precisely how manipulating them will affect the facial appearance.
Dr Mendelson says they often suggest augmentation of the cheekbone with hydroxyapatite while performing a mid cheek lift. “This is especially beneficial for younger people who have early ageing of the mid cheek – which is often the result of poor underlying cheekbone structure.”
Dr Mendelson is an internationally renowned plastic surgeon known for his contribution to modern day facial surgery techniques and outstanding and natural looking results.