What is a Mid Facelift?
As we grow old, the skin looses its elasticity and there are different solutions to this. One of them, the mid facelift procedure, also known as cheek lift, helps lifting the under eye area to nasolabials. This procedure helps treating loose cheeks or the loss of volume in that area, hollowness in the under eye area and deep smile lines. However, this procedure does not help correcting the temple or jowls&neck and the double chin.
Dr. Kerem does like to combine other facial procedures such as temple(brow) lift and/or fat injection in order to improve overall aesthetic results.
This procedure is a great solution for patients who want to have better projected cheeks and glowy looking eyes. The mid facelift surgery helps correcting the tired under look and flat cheeks by repositioning the fat and lifting the loose tissues, ending up with a refreshed, glowing, youthful look with an improved contour appearance for the face.
How Does the Procedure Take Place?
The mid facelift procedure is performed under general anesthesia. After administration of anesthesia, small incisions through the temples are made.(In some cases, Dr. Kerem prefers to perform an incision through the lower eyelid lashes and/or inside of the mouth.)
After this, elevation of the fat pads and muscle tissue is done. This is volume replacement. Then, the middle part of the face is pulled upwards and secured to its new position. And, this is skin tightening. Finally, the incisions are closed.
This procedure takes around 2 to 3 hours and if needed, can be combined with a temple lift procedure. You would need to spend 1 night at the hospital post mid facelift surgery.
Who are good candidates for this procedure?
Patients who have;
- Saggy cheeks
- Hollow under eyes
- Flat cheeks
- Smile lines
- Just starting to develop jowls
- Doesn’t need much work in the jawline&double chin&neck area
- Overall tired looking face are good candidate for a mid facelift surgery
- Loss of facial volume
There is no minimum age limit when it comes to mid facelift surgery. However, we generally operate on patiens who are around their 30-40s. This treatment is mostly performed for facial beautification, not just for rejuvenation. For older patients, this procedure can be a complimentary part of a full facelift surgery.
BEFORE THE SURGERY: What to do Before a Mid Facelift Procedure?
- The earlier you stop smoking, the Because smoking will effect results negatively.
- It is important to stop alcohol and green tea intake 10 days before the
- Please stop taking Aspirin and any other tablets containing Acetyl Salycilic Acid or other anticoagulants, Vitamin E 10 days before the
- Remove all make up and jewelery before the
AFTER THE SURGERY: What Not to Do After The Mid Facelift Procedure? Tips For the Recovery Period
- Drinking lots of water is essential for the recovery
- It is important to get enough rest during the acute stage of the healing
- Avoid direct sun exposure in order to protect the incision
- You should be sleeping on your back for 1
- Using cold press in the first 2 days helps reducing
- Maintaining elevated head position in the first few days is
- Avoid facials or massages for 3 months in the post-op period in order not to disrupt any part of the operated
- It would be best not to smoke as much as possible post surgery because it delays the healing It would be best if you didn’t smoke until 2 months post surgery.
- Refrain from strenous No heavy lifting or hard cardio exercises for first 2 months post surgery.
- Take your medication and eye drops as instructed by your
THE PROCEDURE: What to Expect – Day by Day Recovery for Mid Facelift Surgery
DAY 1: You will have bandages around the face. Your swelling and bruising might start to increase. You might have a bit of soreness feeling around the face.
DAY 2: Your swelling and bruising will start to decrease from end of day 2. You can feel tightness and numbness in some parts around the face or scalp. You can also feel dryness around the eyes and you will be given eye drops to prevent this issue.
DAY 3: You can take shower from the 3rd day post surgery. The bruising will start to reduce. It is important to still stay indoors.
DAY 4-6: Although still visible, you will see that the swelling is decreasing each day. We will continue to keep the bandages on. You can start going out but it is important not to wear yourself out.
DAY 7: The stiches around the incisions are removed as well as the bandages. Most bruising will be gone by the first week. The swelling will continue to exist.
DAY 10: You can start going back to work and your daily routine. Most facial swelling will be gone, but we need time for the results to settle to its place. The tension feeling will be feeling way less compared to the first days.
WEEK 2: Bruising will be completely gone but some of the swelling will still be visible until results really settle.
WEEK 4: You will start seeing results more clear. The tension feeling will be softer by this time. You can start turning to your sides while sleeping.
WEEK 8: Your results will be closer to the end look. However, the full final results will take place from the 3rd to 6th month post op.
Types of Mid Facelift Surgery: How is Mid Facelift Performed?
Mid facelift surgery can be performed through different approaches. The most preferred tecnique by Dr. Kerem is the combination of temple and mid facelift through endoscope device. This helps a complete makeover for the upper and mid part of the face. The mid facelift surgery aims to get rid of the volume loss, help correcting issues in the lower eyelid area, get rid of saggy cheeks and help minimizing nasolabial wrinkles. Patients with weaker bone structure are better candidates for mid facelift surgeries.
Endoscopic Mid Facelift Surgery
The endoscopic technique means that the procedure is performed via an endoscope device. This helps the healing process to be faster. Because the scarring is minimized when you get to use the endoscope device. Because this device has a magnifying effect of the underlying tissues, which means we don’t have to create bigger incisions to see the operation area. Through a minor incision, we get to reach and tighten the operation area. The endosopic mid facelift surgery has intra oral incisions and on the temples, hidden in the hairline. This is generally preferred on the younger patients who are 30 to 40 years old, due to facial skin not being very saggy.
On younger patients, this procedure is carried out for facial beautification, not rejuvenation necessarily. If you do have, saggy jawline and jowls, this procedure is probably not right for you. As it helps lifting the saggy cheeks, aiming for projected cheekbones and less visible nasolabial lines.
Mid Facelift Surgery Combined with Temple Lift
Dr. Metin Kerem does like to perform this combination because it lifts the upper face simultaneously and gives a nice glowy effect for this area right away. The incisions are performed via temples and intra orally. This procedure is performed endoscopically as well.
The reason why this procedure has a more drastic effect is that, it creates a lifting effect both for temples/brows and the mid face. While getting rid of the tired look, this combined procedure helps highlighting the cheekbone area.
Through the help of the endoscope device, we get to lift the temples and mid face&cheeks simultaneously. As the incisions are made via temples and inside of the mouth, there are no scarring in the lower eyelid area.
The midface tissues are released via dissection through the temple and intraorally. Then the released mid face and temple tissues are fixed to a higher position and stabilized for long term results. As mentioned before, another advantage of this procedure is that as the lower eyelid area is not treated directly which means there will be no incisions around the lower eyelid.
Traditional Mid Facelift Surgery
The traditional mid facelift procedure is performed via incisions made inside the lower eyelid. This helps directly lifting the cheeks and under eyes simultaneously. Some patients are better candidates for traditional mid facelift and some are not. Generally, patients who are in their late
40s might be more appropriate candidates for the traditional option. This is because their skin might be saggier and the traditional technique might tolerate their skin sagginess better.
Through this procedure, the soft tissues are released and then mobilized towards upwards and finally they are fixated to their desired position. The incision is made through the base of the lower eyelid lashes.
The Benefits of Mid Facelift
-Better facial harmony.
-Loss of volume restored.
-Youthful refreshed look.
-Highlighted cheekbones.
-Long lasting results.
Does Mid Facelift surgery has risks or complications/side effects?
The mid facelift surgery’s most common side effects are bruising and swelling. Of course, this is not permanent. In around 2 weeks time, the swelling will start to dissolve and the bruising wears off during this period of time. The swelling wears off step by step. Once we hit 1 month mark, most swelling will be gone, however slight puffiness around the cheeks can still be observed.
Watery or dry eyes can also be seen post surgery. However, these are temporary as well. Eye drops can help treating dryness. And, watery eyes problem generally goes away around a few days.
You will have scarring around the temples and this will be hidden in the hairline, in time they will become less visible.
Loss of sensation and numbness around the face can be seen. This is a temporary complication. The numbness will go away in time, does not last very long, typically around a few weeks.
Is Mid Facelift Worth It?
Of course, if it is performed on the correct patient, it is worth it. For example, if you have jowls and a saggy neck, probably this treatment will not be right for you and this would be waste of time and money for you. So, it is important to be sure if you are the correct candidate for this procedure.
What Does a Mid Facelift do?
The mid facelift surgery helps gaining back volume loss on the mid face, helps correcting flattening&saggines of cheeks, gets rid of lower eyelid bags and nasolabial lines. It basically restores youthfulness.
How Long Does Mid Facelift Last?
The mid facelift is a permanent surgery, its effect become less only with aging. The mid facelift surgery lasts at least around 10 years. However, it can be more or less depending on the patient’s skin quality.
Mid Facelift Before&Afters
Please click here to request before&after photos.
Is it Painful to have Mid Facelift Surgery?
The mid facelift surgery has a mild pain for the first few days after surgery. Rather than pain, it feels like soreness. Some patients don’t even mention pain but the swelling, which takes some time to resolve.
Mid Facelift Incisions, What About Scarring?
The mid facelift surgery is generally carried out via endoscope device, which means the only incisions you will have will be around the temples. Because the endoscope device will help reaching to the outermost tissue, so through the temple, we can reach the middle part of the face.
What Are the Differences Between a Mid Facelift and a Full Facelift?
The mid facelift surgery covers the mid region of the face, but a full facelift treats the jawline, jowls, double chin and neck, so basically lower 3rd part of the face. The incisions are different as well. In a full facelift procedure, the scars are positioned around the ears. but in the mid facelift surgery, the scars are positioned either on the temples or the lower eyelid. So, the treatment areas are different. This means, you have to have different issues, if the mid part of your face seems to look tired or sag, or if you have nasolabial folds and empty lower eyelids, then the mid facelift addresses these issues. On the otherhand, if you have jowls, saggy jawline or double chin&neck issue, then facelift surgery is right for you. Of course, there are different techniques when it comes to facelift surgery, we generally perform deep plane facelift surgery as we believe it gives the best results and solves the issues around the jawline&lower face and neck.
How Old Should I Be to Get A Mid Facelift procedure?
Mostly patients who have mid facial deflation tend to have this procedure performed. Those patients are around their late 30s-40s. Patients older than their 50s generally have good results when they go thorugh a facelift surgery, because patients who are over their 50s tend to have issues around their jowls&neck and mid facelift does not address those issues.
Can Mid Facelift also correct lower eyelid issues?
Yes, the mid facelift procedure can address the lower eyelid bags or hollowness on the lower eyelid if needed. Once, the cheeks are lifted, the face gains back its loss of volume and this also helps the lower eyelid issue to be solved indirectly. But, the mid facelift surgery can also directly treat the lower eyelid problems.
How Soon Can I Travel after a Midface Lift?
10-12 days after the procedure, you can fly back home.
When Can I Wear Makeup after the Mid Facelift procedure?
After a week to 10 days of healing, you can start wearing makeup. It is important to keep it gentle and do a good cleanse while taking off your makeup.
Can Mid Facelift Cause Hair Loss?
If the procedure is performed via temples, slight hair loss around the scars is possible. But in time, the hair will start to grow back.
Would My Facial Expressions be Affected post Mid Facelift surgery?
The aim of this procedure is to gain back the volume loss over the years, not to change the facial expressions completely. So, your facial expressions will not be affected by this procedure. The result of this procedure will only create a nice glow and give youthfulness.
How Many Painkillers Can I Take Post Midface Lift surgery?
First of all, it is important to follow your surgeon’s instructions. Depending on the patient, ideally 1 painkiller in the morning 1 at night is recommended(like Arveles or Apranax or Ibuprofen). During midday, you can take 1 more light painkiller. (Paracetamol)
Can Midface Lift surgery treat crow’s feet?
Although it might not directly affect it but it would improve the look of the crow’s feet, especially when endoscopic temple lift is also combined with the midface lift surgery, as the temples will be lifted, the crow’s feet will become less visible.
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