Would Cheek and Paranasal Implants Improve My Flat Facial Profile?

 Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in getting cheek and paranasal implants. What is the best procedure to correct a deficient (flat) mid face? I’ve always hated my facial profile.  I have attached some photos which I realize probably are not the quality needed for computer imaging but I was hoping you would be able to gauge if and how you might be able to correct my facial features.

A: The photos you have sent show you smiling in both of them so they not only are not useful for computer imaging but have distorted the midface due to the soft tissues changes. Unfortunately if I can’t image them to see the visual change then  it is difficult to say such procedures are aesthetically productive…because what ultimately counts is what you think not what I think about the potential facial look change.

Having said that, cheek and paranasal implants are useful for improving the facial profile that has some midface deficiency…which may apply to you but smiling photos pull the soft tissue up (at least on the cheeks) and make them look fuller than they really might be. I can see the paranasal deficiency which smiling actually accentuates rather than improves.

So my incomplete assessment at this point suggests that you may be correct that your midface profile could be improved by these types of implant augmentations.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana