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Phone 512.401.2500 | Fax 512.401.2501
2745 Bee Caves Road, Suite 101
Austin,
Texas
78746
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Question:
My understanding is that the traditional facelift just addresses the lower portion of the face and neck. I want my cheeks and midfacial area worked on too. Can I have a midface lift and a facelift at the same time?
Answer:
Cheeks and lower face can certainly be addressed at the same time. Usually the cheeks and midface area is rejuvenated by replacing lost volume rather than lifting the area. Having said that, the facelift that we perform will provide some degree of rejuvenation for the cheek area. The facelift alone will not however elevate or rejuvenate the medial cheek or lower eyelid which is associated with cheek volume loss.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I have sagging jowls and as I get older the worse they get. I am a 48 year old male from San Antonio and I would like to have this taken care of. Could you please explain if I would need a full, a "mini" or a "standard" facelift and what is the difference? I really feel that the only thing I need fixed is my jowls.
Answer:
While a “mini” lift is on occasion performed on men, it is usually women in your age group (only concerned with her jowls) are reasonable candidates for a mini facelift. We refer to this is a limited incision lower facelift. The difference between the two facelifts is primarily that the limited incision facelift involves incisions only around the ear with minimal elevation of skin and fascia whereas the full lower facelift includes an incision under the chin to address the neck area in a comprehensive manner.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I feel that the sagging in my face is concentrated mostly in the area of my cheeks. Is this something that a midface lift will fix?
Answer:
Yes, but we seldom perform midface lifts anymore. I have performed midface lifts through the lower eyelid, endoscopically with a browlift, and temporally with a facelift. While all of these procedures work to some extent, I have come to believe that cheek/midface aging happens primarily as a result of volume loss and not gravitational descent. Therefore, volume is the answer. Volume is replaced by either using fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse or Sculptra or with autologous fat transfer. A consultation will be necessary to determine which procedure is appropriate; however there is ample information on our website regarding all of the procedures.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
Threadlifts seemed so popular when they first came out but now you don’t hear much about them, at least not much that’s good. What’s changed?
Answer:
Nothing has changed. Patients and physicians are always looking for minimally invasive procedures that will provide exceptional long term results. Unfortunately, the media often picks up on these procedures and their popularity grows prior to demonstration of their effectiveness. Threadlift was one of these procedures. The demand for the procedure initially was enormous and unfounded. Once the outcomes were studied through scientific methods it became apparent that the results were minimal and short-lived. We looked into the procedure when it first became available and decided that it was unlikely to live up to the hype. We never performed the procedure, but have answered many questions about it over the years.
Please visit us or contact us by e-mail for more info about Facial Plastic Surgery in Austin, TX.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’m confused about the difference between the facelift and the midface lift. I would guess that the midface lift treats the midface and cheeks, but does this mean that a facelift doesn’t treat these areas?
Answer:
Different surgeons will use these terms differently. We use the term facelift to describe a procedure that is targeted to improve the jawline and neck most significantly. However, during this procedure we will often release the cheek as well and there may be some improvement in this area. So to answer your question, a facelift can improve the cheek to some degree. In contrast, a midface lift is targeted at improving the cheek area as you mention. However, to a lesser degree, some lifts may also improve the jawline. So really, each procedure has its strengths, but may improve the adjacent areas to a lesser degree.
Please visit us or contact us by e-mail for more info about Facial Plastic Surgery in Austin, TX.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I think I look pretty good for an “old” lady of 63. I really have very few wrinkles, I have maintained my weight and I exercise daily. Why then, when I have taken such good care of myself, do I have loose folds of skin on my cheeks? Can I get these fold removed with a midface lift?
Answer:
The most likely reason for skin folds in the cheeks of a healthy 63 year old physically fit woman is volume loss. Compare the way your face looks today to a photo of yourself when you were 35. Notice how the fullness of the brow, temples, cheeks and even jawline has decreased. While a lift might reposition the tissue a little, the real solution is to replace what has been lost, volume. This can be done using what has been lost, your own fat, through a fat transfer procedure, or it can be done with fillers such as Sculptra, Radiesse, Juvederm, Restylane or Perlane. More information about each of these procedures is available on this website.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
Do you recommend a midface lift for sagging cheeks? It looks like I have lost a lot of weight, which I haven’t. But the skin sags down and makes me look like I am frowning?
Answer:
I used to perform a lot of midface lifts and have used a variety of techniques to do so including a temporal approach combined with a facelift, an approach through the lower eyelid and an endoscopic approach with a browlift. In each case I was underwhelmed with the result and especially the longevity of the result. Then I had a lightbulb go off which is mentioned in your question. “It looks like I’ve lost a lot of weight, but haven’t.” That is the answer to sagging cheeks. Cheeks age because of volume loss not tissue descent. Therefore the fix to the problem is to add the weight or more specifically the volume back. That can be accomplished with short term results (1-5 years) with the use of various fillers or it can be accomplished with long-term results (10-20 years) by transferring the patient’s own fat cells from their body to their face. Please visit the fat transfer section of our website for more information and photos.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
