Midface Lift in Istanbul, Turkey
- Surgery: 2–3 hours
- Hospital stay: 1 night
- In Istanbul: ~7 days
- Socially presentable: ~2 weeks
Indicative ranges for a midface lift on its own. When it is part of a facelift or eyelid plan, that operation's ranges apply. Your plan, recovery and clearance to travel are individual.
What a Midface Lift Is
The midface is the region between the lower eyelid and the corner of the mouth: the cheek fat, the muscles beneath it and the ligaments that hold both to the cheekbone. As those ligaments loosen, the whole block slides down and slightly forward. The cheekbone loses its fullness, a hollow appears where the lid meets the cheek, the fold beside the nose deepens because tissue has piled up above it, and the face reads as tired even when the jawline is still clean.
A midface lift releases that block and moves it back up and outward, fixing it in its new position. Nothing is removed and no skin is excised — this is repositioning, which is why it can be done through very small incisions.
The Lid–Cheek Junction
The most visible thing a midface lift changes is the junction between the lower eyelid and the cheek. In a young face that transition is short and unbroken. As the cheek descends it lengthens, and a distinct line appears across the top of the cheek with a hollow above it — the shadow that people try to treat with concealer and, often, with filler.
Lifting the cheek back onto the bone shortens that transition and refills the hollow with the patient's own tissue. It is also why a midface lift and lower eyelid surgery belong together so often: with the cheek supported from below, the lower lid can be treated without pulling it, and the lid is planned against its new cheek rather than the old one.
How I Perform It
I perform the midface lift endoscopically, through small incisions hidden in the hairline at the temple, sometimes combined with a short incision inside the lower eyelid or the mouth depending on what the plan needs. Through them the tissue is released off the bone under camera guidance, moved up and outward along the vector that suits the face, and fixed in its new position. There is no incision in front of the ear and no skin removal.
The technique overlaps closely with the endoscopic facelift, and a fuller endoscopic plan that also addresses the brow and temple is often the better operation — the two are described separately because patients search for them separately, not because they are unrelated. The same family of operations is sold elsewhere as a ponytail facelift.
Midface Lift or Deep Plane Facelift?
This is the decision that matters, and it is not a matter of preference.
A midface lift reaches the cheek. It does not reach the jawline and it does not reach the neck. If your jawline is still clean and the change you see is central — a flattened cheek, a lengthened lid–cheek junction, a deepening fold beside the nose — then a midface lift treats what has actually moved, through small incisions and a shorter recovery.
If the jawline has softened, if jowls have formed, or if the neck has loosened, then a midface lift will leave all of that untouched and the result will look partial. The operation for that face is a deep plane facelift, which releases the retaining ligaments and repositions the midface, the jawline and — with a deep neck lift — the neck in one operation. A deep plane facelift includes a midface lift; the reverse is not true.
| Aspect | Midface lift | Deep plane facelift |
|---|---|---|
| Area treated | Cheek, lid–cheek junction, fold beside the nose | Midface, jawline and, with a neck lift, the neck |
| Incisions | Small, hidden in the hairline, sometimes inside the lid or mouth | In the natural creases in front of and behind the ear, into the hairline |
| Skin removal | None | Skin redraped without tension and trimmed |
| The jawline and neck | Not treated | Treated at the structural source |
| Best suited to | Central ageing with an intact jawline | Established jowls, midface descent, neck laxity |
Who It Suits
The midface lift suits a face with central descent and a jawline that has not yet gone: a cheek that has flattened, a lengthening lid–cheek junction, a fold beside the nose that has deepened, good skin elasticity and no meaningful jowling. It suits particularly well the patient whose lower eyelids need surgery and whose cheek has fallen, because the two operations support each other.
Age by itself is not how I decide, and I do not publish an age range for it — I decide on what has moved in your face. Where volume has been lost as well as position, fat grafting is added rather than substituted, because repositioning and refilling are different problems. What I look for in your photographs is set out plainly.
With Other Procedures
In my practice the midface lift is rarely performed alone. It is most often combined with lower eyelid surgery, with a temporal lift where the outer brow has also descended, and with fat grafting where the face has emptied as well as fallen. When the jawline and neck are involved, the midface component becomes part of a deep plane facelift instead of a separate operation. The logic of what I combine, and where I stop, is on combining facial procedures.
Results
A good midface result is a cheek that sits on its bone again and a shorter, smoother transition into the lower lid — not a fuller face and not a different one. The change is most obvious in three-quarter view, which is why my gallery pairs are photographed at matched angles. Every case in my results gallery lists the full combination of procedures performed.
Recovery
Swelling in the midface is the main feature of the early period and it is more persistent than patients expect, because the tissue has been released and moved rather than merely tightened; the cheeks look over-full before they look right. Bruising is usually modest. There is no incision in front of the ear, so what is visible is swelling rather than scars. Numbness in the temple and the scalp around the incisions is normal and improves over time.
The week-by-week course of facial recovery, including what is normal and what to report, is in the facelift recovery guide; how the trip around it is arranged is on travelling to Istanbul.
Risks, Plainly
The risks are those of facial surgery: bleeding and haematoma, infection, asymmetry between the two sides, prolonged swelling — which is more common here than in most facial operations — temporary numbness of the scalp and temple, temporary weakness of the frontal branch of the facial nerve and, rarely, permanent injury, hair thinning along the incisions, and the risks of anaesthesia. Where the lower lid is approached in the same operation, the lid-specific risks described on the blepharoplasty page apply as well. Over-elevation that flattens the natural shape of the cheek is a technique risk, and it is the reason the vector is planned rather than standard.
How Long It Lasts
A midface lift repositions tissue, so the correction is structural rather than a filling that wears away — but ageing continues from where the operation leaves you, and the midface is one of the first areas to show it again. I do not attach a number of years to any technique, and I would be cautious of a clinic that does. What determines how long it holds is your anatomy, your skin and how much was actually released.
What Decides the Cost
The cost follows the plan: a midface lift alone, a midface lift with lower eyelid surgery, or a fuller endoscopic plan that includes the brow and temple are different operations with different operating times. After I have reviewed your photographs you receive an itemised quote for your own plan. How quotes are built and compared safely is on the cost page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a midface lift?
A midface lift repositions the cheek — the fat, muscle and soft tissue that have slid down and inward off the cheekbone — back onto the bone, through small incisions hidden in the hairline. Nothing is removed and no skin is excised; the operation moves tissue rather than tightening it.
What is the difference between a midface lift and a facelift?
A midface lift treats the cheek and the lid–cheek junction. A deep plane facelift treats the midface, the jawline and, with a deep neck lift, the neck. If your jawline is still clean, a midface lift treats what has actually moved; if jowls or neck laxity have formed, it will leave them untouched.
Will a midface lift help the hollows under my eyes?
Usually, yes — much of that hollow is the shadow left where the cheek has fallen away, and lifting the cheek back onto the bone shortens the transition and refills it with your own tissue. Where the hollow is also volume loss, fat grafting is added rather than substituted.
Are there visible scars?
The incisions are small and concealed within the hairline at the temple, sometimes with a short incision inside the lower eyelid or inside the mouth. There is no incision in front of the ear. Hair along the incisions can thin temporarily.
Is a midface lift the same as a cheek lift?
Yes — “cheek lift” is the everyday name for the same operation. It is also closely related to what is sold elsewhere as a ponytail facelift, which is a marketing name for endoscopic lifting of the temple, brow and midface.
Can it be combined with eyelid surgery?
Yes, and it often should be. With the cheek supported from below, the lower lid can be treated without pulling on it, and the lid is planned against its new cheek position rather than its old one. This is one of the combinations I perform most often.
Who is a good candidate for a midface lift?
Someone with central ageing — a flattened cheek, a lengthening lid–cheek junction, a deepening fold beside the nose — with good skin elasticity and no meaningful jowling or neck laxity. I decide on what has moved in your face rather than on your age, and I will say so if a more complete operation would serve you better.
How long does midface lift recovery take?
Swelling in the midface is the main feature and is more persistent than in most facial operations, because tissue has been released and moved; the cheeks look over-full before they look right. There are no incisions in front of the ear, so what is visible is swelling rather than scars. The indicative ranges are in the summary at the top of this page.
How long does a midface lift last?
The repositioning is structural, but ageing continues from where the operation leaves you, and the midface is one of the first areas to show it again. I do not promise a number of years for any technique; anatomy, skin quality and how much was released decide how long it holds.
How much does a midface lift cost in Turkey?
There is no single price, because a midface lift alone, a midface lift with lower eyelid surgery and a fuller endoscopic plan are different operations. After I have reviewed your photographs you receive an itemised quote for your own plan.
Start Your Assessment
Send a photograph straight on and one from three-quarters on each side. Over WhatsApp or through the form — you will receive my initial assessment of whether your ageing is central enough for a midface lift or whether the jawline has moved too, a proposed plan, an expected length of stay and an itemised quote before anything is arranged.
Request a personal review See before & after results
Every enquiry is reviewed personally by Dr. Yilmaz; scheduling is handled by the patient coordination team.
About Dr. Muhsin Yilmaz
Written and medically reviewed by Muhsin Yilmaz, MD, FEBOPRAS — Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Dr. Muhsin Yilmaz is a double board-certified plastic surgeon, holding the FEBOPRAS diploma of the European Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and the certification of the Turkish Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, and practises in Istanbul, Türkiye. His practice is focused on facial and neck rejuvenation, centred on the deep plane facelift — around 150 facelift operations per year, performed at Acıbadem Kartal Hospital. He is a member of TSPRAS and ISAPS, and is registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health for international health tourism. Read his full profile.
References
- Hester TR, Codner MA, McCord CD, Nahai F, Giannopoulos A. Evolution of technique of the direct transblepharoplasty approach for the correction of lower lid and midfacial aging. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2000;105(1):393–406. doi:10.1097/00006534-200001000-00065
- Ramirez OM. Endoscopic techniques in facial rejuvenation: an overview. Part I. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 1994;18(2):141–147. doi:10.1007/BF00454473
- Jacono AA, Bryant LM. Extended deep plane facelift: incorporating facial retaining ligament release and composite flap shifts to maximize midface, jawline and neck rejuvenation. Clin Plast Surg. 2018;45(4):527–554. PMID 30268241