MID FACELIFT: The mid facelift is a common surgical procedure where the goal is to give a lift only to the cheek areas. This procedure is usually performed under a general anesthesia. The incisions are made in the temporal area and underneath the upper gum line, and a pulling and tightening effect is performed on the muscle and fascia layers of only the cheeks. An excellent alternative to this technique is to place cheek implants in the cheek area overlying the maxillary bone. As the face ages there is a volumetric reduction in the amount of fat and an overall volume loss of tissues in the cheek; therefore, sagging cheeks occur. Re-suspending the cheeks with a mid facelift helps. In addition, volumetric augmentation with cheek implantation works well. Cheek implants are placed through a gingival incision on the upper lip above the teeth, and they are placed on the natural cheekbone. They are undetectable both by look and feel, and they feel just like the patient’s own normal cheekbone. The mid facelift or cheek implants are usually performed on patients in their 40s and 50s who have limited aging only to the cheeks and do not require a facelift, a neck lift, or any other facial rejuvenation procedure. The cheek implants can also be performed in combination with a facelift if there is facial laxity and a flat cheek area. The surgery is performed at The Seattle Facial Plastic Surgery Center, which is a Medicare-certified surgery center, under the direction of Dr. William Portuese. Board-certified physicians/anesthesiologists come from Swedish Medical Center to perform the anesthesia. Out-of-town patients can stay at one of the area’s three hotels within one block of the office.
