Do I Need To Cut The Cheekbones To Get A High Cheekbone Look?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is it possible to create a truly “high-set prominent cheekbones” appearance in someone whose cheekbones are both flat and positioned low—and who, despite having very low fat levels, lacks sharp facial contours? I don’t think custom cheek implants can truly solve this problem because the attachment point of the masseter muscle doesn’t change. Additionally, the upper border of the cheek hollows doesn’t change either. In this case, would there be any benefit to first shaving the bone and then using an implant? Or can the bone be lifted vertically upward directly, and if so, what are the limitations of this approach?

A:Achieving a high cheekbones look has nothing to do with trying to move the cheekbones more superiorly… which cannot be done anyway due to the attachments of the masseteric muscle. While you can detach the mesenteric muscle and move the cheekbones higher that would not be a very smart move in disrupting the origin of the muscular attachments. That is going to cause a whole new set of facial contour problems. Thus the proper approach to achieving a very high cheekbone look, which infringes on the lower temporal area, is a custom cheek implant design that can do so far more effectively and without creating other facial contour problems.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Plastic Surgeon