Cheekbone Reduction Complication Treatments

Q: Dr. Eppley, I saw you on Real Self answer questions regarding to cheekbone reduction complication treatments. 

I had my cheekbone reduced and very unhappy with the results. If i was to attempt to reposition the cheekbones to the original anatomical position would that require a coronal incision across the scalp? Or is there a less invasive method? If i choose to bypss all that and choose cheek implants, would that help with midface sag or do i still need a coronal incision to lift the muscles back up? or would a SMAS  facelift suffice? Thank you.

A: Thank you for your inquiry. Reversal of cheekbone reduction osteotomies are done the same way the original operation was performed…which I assume intraorally for the anterior cheek osteotomy and a small preauricular skin incision for the posterior arch osteotomy. (which is how I do them) I would need to see x-rays, however, to see how yours were done. But most certainly you would never do a coronal approach to reverse it from above. (While effective it would not be worth the tradeoff of that operation for it) 

Alternative approaches are to use an implant to create some soft tissue cheek lift. A facelift helps with any sag along the jawline but less so of the cheeks. 

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana