Will I Need A Facelift If I Remove My Cheek Implants?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I may need to remove my silicone cheek implants placed with screw. I may need a facelift during the removal.

A:I believe your concern with the removal of your cheek implants is that some cheek tissue sagging may result…which is a legitimate concern since the osteocutaneous ligaments have been detached for the placement of the implants. In that regard there are three potential strategies to consider to mitigate that potential issue.

1) Remove the cheek implants and see what happens with healing. Such cheek sagging may or may not occur depending on the size of the implants and their actual location.

2) Remove the cheek implants and replace with smaller ePTFE cheek implants. The smaller implant will still provide some tissue support and the ePTFE material allows tissue ingrowth to give the overlying tissues something to hold onto unlike the silicone material.

3) Remove the cheek implants and do a temporal cheeklift.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon