Midface Lift

People with dark circles under the eyes or folds in front of their cheeks may be the perfect candidates for a midface lift procedure, which addresses signs of aging in the areas near the cheeks and eyelids. During a midface lift, the fat section located in the cheek is raised to provide a more full, taut appearance to the mid-section of the face and help the patient to appear younger. Dr. Congdon and Cedar Valley ASCENT can help patients in the Cedar Valley, including Waterloo and our outreach clinics, achieve a look that is natural and refreshed through our endoscopic midface lift procedure.

Endoscopic Midface Lift

An extension of the brow lift is called a midface lift. This lift is performed by placing small incisions within the hairline, in the temple area above the ear and behind the hairline. The upper cheeks are lifted back to their more-youthful position. This procedure begins in the same manner as a traditional facelift and involves lifting the area beneath the cheek and beyond the surrounding tissue and removing excess skin and fat to achieve a more youthful look. The endoscopic approach to midface lifts uses a small camera and allows the patients to minimize scarring and achieve more long-term results through a smaller incision, as compared to the more conventional approach.

Is a midface lift right for you?

As the face matures, the midface or the cheek soft tissue pad can drop, producing deep grooves between the nose and mouth and sunken cheeks and dark circles under the eyes. When the cheeks are lifted back up into their youthful position, the dark, sunken look that some people develop under the eyes is softened. To accomplish this, a procedure of roughly 60-90 minutes is undertaken and despite some general effects of most facelift surgeries, such as inflammation, pain, bruising and swelling, most patients are able to return to normal activities within a week of the procedure. Because the midface lift procedure is a fairly complex surgery, patients should only work with a facial plastic surgeon that is board-certified and experienced in performing midface lifts, such as Dr. David J. Congdon.

The patients featured below underwent a midface lift with a facelift, an upper and lower lid blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, an endoscopic forehead lift, a pre-jowl chin implant and a fat injection to the lips.