Many patients are interested in obtaining fuller more youthful cheeks. Some have lost this fullness due to sagging tissue and loss of tissue volume as result of age. Other have never had the ideal cheek or malar fullness as a result of genetic bony and soft tissue variations.
Options are numerous and depend on the patient’s age and anatomy. Implants made in various shapes and sizes are great options. Fat injection done in a series of 2 to 3 sessions will also result in naturally appearing fuller cheeks. Fat can also be injected to the naso-labial folds at the same time if needed in older patients. Filler injections although viable, were not cost effective until now. Artefill, the first permanent “filler” approved by the FDA is a fantastic option for augmentation of the cheeks and effacement of the naso-labial folds. Mid-face lift is also another option best used in older patients who have deep naso-labial folds and show inferiorly and medially descended cheeks. This procedure may be combined with fat injection, filler injection or even cheek implants.
The ultimate goal is achieving a triangular face (with the base located between the cheeks and the apex at the chin). This “inverted triangle” is associated with youth rather than the “rectangular face” associated with aging.
Rhinoplasty
