Laser Resurfacing, Albany, NY- Deluca Plastic Surgery

Hollow Cheeks – Treatment with Implants, Fat Transfer, and Fillers

What Causes Hollow Cheeks

The aging, hollow face is typified by soft tissue decent and volume loss. These stigmata of growing older are manifest by the development of nasolabial folds, marionette lines, and jowls combined with a sunken mid-face and hollow cheeks.

In recent years, DeLuca Plastic Surgery has looked past skin tightening as the solution for all of these complaints and has recognized the role that volume loss contributes to the appearance of aging, hollow cheeks. This volume loss occurs as the soft tissue (and even bone) of the face resorbs over time as we get older or secondary to weight loss. To combat these changes we utilize a variety of techniques including several types of non-invasive facial fillers, fat transfer, and facial implants.

Facial Implants

Projection of the cheeks and mid-face is due to the interaction of the bones of the face and the overlying skin and soft tissue. Facial implants are used to add a more substantial foundation to hollow cheeks by adding projection to the bones of the face in patients that have experienced significant resorption as they age or who have always lacked projection.  Skeletal implants are powerful tools to modify the framework of the face and can produce dramatic results. In our practice, these implants are often combined with soft tissue augmentation, such as fat transfer, to treat hollow cheeks – restoring harmony and symmetry.

Facial Implants Used in Treating The Thinning Face
Types of Facial Implants

Read: “Top Cosmetic Surgeries For Men”

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Skin Tightening Q&A: Do “Non-Surgical” Lasers and Ultrasound Work?

Question – Can you offer some insight into all the non-surgical procedures that are inundating the market for skin tightening, for instance, lasers and soundwave technologies? Many are saying they were featured on shows like Dr. Oz to lend credibility to their claims…. I suspect it is just another “too good to be true” story, but your thoughts on the subject would be most welcome. – Debra


Answer – Excellent questions, Debra. Regarding the latest generation of “non-ablative” lasers for skin tightening and sound-wave technologies, the short answer is that, as with most things in life, “there are no shortcuts” and “if it’s too good to be true, it usually is” (for more on the high cost of smartly marketed, less invasive and/or expensive treatments and technologies, please see slides 14-17 from my ‘What to Look For in a Plastic Surgeon‘ presentation.

That said, if a new product, technique or technology is shown to be both safe and superior to the current treatment standard (through peer-reviewed, double blind studies by other plastic surgeons), my approach has always been to assimilate/incorporate it into my practice. Even then, however, I try to never be among the first wave of users. This helps ensure not only the safety of my patients, but also their satisfaction with the results as well.

Case in point, for years, laser liposuction companies and MDs claimed that the machines not only suctioned fat, but were also a method of non-surgical skin tightening. The technology was promoted featured on promoted featured on Oprah, GMA, The Today Show, People Magazine (‘The New Lipo: Has Fat Met Its Match?) and hundreds of other publications. But since its introduction, no studies have confirmed its superiority to traditional tumescent liposuction methods. What has been confirmed, though, is laser liposuction’s potential to burn skin. More on that here.

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