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Full cheeks, high on the cheek bone impart a very fresh youthful appearance to the face. Have you noticed that when you see a young child you frequently are moved to touch the child’s cheek and say “look at those chubby cheeks”! Full cheeks are a hallmark of a young full healthy appearing face. High full cheeks have long been considered a beautiful facial feature. Check the photo of one of my face lift results to see how lifting the cheek can restore a youthful appearance to the face.

Unfortunately, the cheek or midface is usually the first area of the face to sag with aging. As the cheek falls loose skin folds over the mouth creating the nasal labial folds and this phenomena crates a tired look to the face. The nasal labial folds caused by the sagging of the cheek are one of the most common complaints I see in my Boston plastic surgery practice.

The full youthful cheek appearance is created by a structure called the cheek fat pad or malar fat pad which in our youth is attached the Zygoma or cheek bone high in the face. As the cheek or midface becomes lax with aging, the cheek fat pad or malar fat pad drops into the middle of the face below the cheek bone.

Look into the mirror and pull your cheeks back up towards your hairline and you will notice immediately how your face looks more youthful.

One side effect of the descent of the cheek fat pad is that the skin of the cheek falls down into folds around the mouth. These are called the nasal labial folds and are one of the most common complaints I see.

The descent of the cheek fat pad begins in our 30’s and 40’s and can be very severe in our 60’s and 70’s.

The cheek lift or mid face lift can produce a dramatic improvement in the sagging of the cheek and restore a youthful look to the face. The cheek lift or mid face lift is a relatively simple procedure, only about 1/3 of the surgery required for a full face lift.

The procedure takes about an hour and requires an incision which is mostly in the hairline and not visible. Sometimes the incision needs to be extended down in front of the upper portion of the ear but is well hidden by your hair. Recovery is usually about a week to ten days and bruising is usually minimal.

Many people come to my Boston plastic surgery practice wanting Restylane, Juvaderm, or Radiesse injected into their nasal labial folds. These injections are a camouflage and do not correct the basic problem which is sagging of the cheek. A cheek lift or mid face lift is the corrective procedure. Some people want to have cheek implants to correct the sagging cheek. For people who have “sunken cheeks’ or do not have a well developed cheek bone, cheek implants can help. However for most people I find the cheek lift or midface lift is the best solution.

Dr Seckel

Boston, Massachusetts

Peabody, Massachusetts