Do I Need Custom Facial Implants or a Facelift?

Dr. Eppley, I am East Asian. About 3 years ago I had bone contouring in Korea: cheekbone (zygoma) reduction, jaw angle / V-line, chin reduction, and a rhinoplasty, plus a small facelift at the same time. There are titanium screws in place. Since then my cheekbones look flat and the soft tissue seems to have dropped a bit, so my lower face reads heavier. From your blog this looks like exactly the kind of case you take on with custom implants.

A few things I’d want to understand: how much of this is lost bone volume vs sagging soft tissue, and whether custom implants or a facelift would help, and which first.

A: Since i have no frame of reference (what you looked before) I can only make some general comments and obserations:

1)  You always have to remember what got you to your current situation….reduction/loss of facial bone support.

2)  You have had a prior facelift.

3) There is no evidence in your pictures of loose or lax skin.

Thus one can come to the conclusion that only some restoraiton of bone support would be helpful.

Dr Barry Eppley

Plastic Surgeon