Cheek Lift Augmentation: Surgery vs alternative treatments: How Do I Decide?

Increasing the volume of the cheekbones is a highly requested aesthetic treatment today. The correct projection of the malar region allows the face to appear more harmonious, which is considered a sign of beauty in our times.

When this area is full and well-marked, it draws a fascinating “aggressive” expression, but not only that: firm cheekbones with adequate volume effectively support the lower part of the face, keeping the profile more defined and youthful, a desirable effect, especially in those tissues that, due to age, have given way and that form a flat or even skeletal face.

Each person seeks to solve a specific and personalized problem and wants specific results. Therefore, in this article, we want to expose the treatments recommended by surgeons specialized in cheek augmentation to counteract the traces that the passage of time leaves on the face.

Malarplasty for sunken cheeks

The passage of the years does not forgive. The skin stops manufacturing elastin and collagen, which contributes to losing the elasticity and hydration necessary for its correct support. Also, it becomes thinner and thinner, the subcutaneous tissue atrophies, and, as a consequence, the cheeks lose volume, appearing sunken and empty.

Because of this, we show a haggard appearance, unattractive, without harmony. In some cases, the malar region’s poor projection is an innate characteristic of the patient; in others, it is due to an asymmetry that it wishes to correct.

What is the solution that doctors recommend? Most cosmetic surgery specialists advise performing a surgical intervention to reshape the cheekbones area with silicone prostheses’ insertion. This operation is known as mammaplasty, and it is a technically simple treatment. It is performed under local anesthesia and involves a very short recovery. The most outstanding advantage of this intervention is that it allows to create or recover the cheekbones’ volume and firmness in a definitive way.

Often, patients who opt for the surgical solution want to re-harmonize the features of the full face. For this reason, in many cases, anaplasty is combined with other interventions, such as blepharoplasty, mentoplasty, or rhinoplasty, some of which usually take advantage of the same access points for the introduction of the prosthesis. In this way, it is possible to optimize the recovery time and achieve an exceptional result.

 

A less invasive solution: lipo filling

A very interesting alternative to mammaplasty with a silicone prosthesis is lipo filling, which consists of microinjections of autologous fat (previously aspirated with very thin cannulas) on the cheeks cheekbones. This treatment ensures optimal results thanks to the current techniques of collection, treatment, and infiltration of adipose tissue.

Lipofilling is a minimally invasive treatment, which has a slightly higher impact on the patient than the increase of the cheekbones; It is performed in the doctor’s own office with autologous natural fillers and can be considered an intermediate solution between injectable fillers and mammaplasty, which uses silicone prostheses.

The autologous filler application allows the temporary increase of the cheekbones and confers an optimal result for one or two years, a period not too short of forcing the patient to continue with the touch-ups, but sufficient to allow the pros and cons to be evaluated calmly of the new physiognomy.

Cheek Augmentation with injectable fillers

Finally, there is a temporary solution to add volume to sunken cheeks and eliminate the haggard appearance that the face shows with the increase over the years. We refer to injectable fillers, which can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable depending on whether our body absorbs them over time. Among the biodegradable fillers, which are the most used, we can find hyaluronic acid, polycaprolactone, or hydroxyapatite (the most used for this treatment).

Sometimes, the doctors recommend patients to resort to the use of resorbable fillers and, eventually, to opt, in a second moment, for a definitive intervention, such as palatoplasty or lipo filling, once the results have been seen and that These meet your expectations. Therefore, biodegradable fillers’ most important advantage is that their results gradually disappear over time, so they are not definitive. If the patient is not happy with them, he should only let months go by to choose the most appropriate treatment for his needs. Hence, they are the best option to fill the cheeks and increase the cheekbones if you are not sure of the effects you want.

The time that the treatment lasts is very short, just 20 minutes. It is performed on an outpatient basis; It only requires local anesthesia, which allows the patient to recover their routine normally after the consultation.

Injectable fillers accentuate the cheeks, bringing youth and harmony to the face. They make it possible to draw the face’s contour showing clearer, more defined, and beautiful lines.

On some occasions, after cheek augmentation treatment with injectable fillers, the surgeon may advise tightening the skin to make it appear smoother and more hydrated. For this reason, you may recommend other complementary treatments, such as facial mesotherapy with vitamin injection, which allows multiplying the effects of fillers in the cheek area.

In general, regardless of the type of treatment we have chosen for cheek augmentation, the different methods discussed ensure optimal results and involve minimal discomfort. Also, these fillers avoid resorting to definitive solutions that can shift over time or lead to chronic inflammatory processes.

For all the above, to improve the contour of the face and recover the ideal volume, experts in aesthetic medicine and surgery recommend always choosing the safest and most guaranteed solution, resorting, of course, to serious, experienced, and specialized professionals in these treatments.