Home · Procedures · Midface Lift in Turkey
Midface Lift in Turkey, the process, the healing, and what I wish I’d known
The midface lift raises the dropped cheek area, between lower lid and mouth corner. It's for women who don't yet have jowls but look tired because the cheek has slipped downwards. And it's the facial procedure with the longest swelling of all.
My connection to this surgeon
I was a patient of the specialist I refer you to. I was so convinced by his work that I chose to work with him. On site, his clinic team looks after you, English-speaking, from the airport to the last check-up. He speaks English himself; your consent conversation happens without an interpreter. For legal reasons I don't publish his name. You learn it later in the process, once you have signed a short agreement with me and your photos are in for his assessment.
What a midface lift is
Through an approach at the temple, the lower lid or from inside the mouth, the cheek fat pad is released, moved upwards and fixed there. The cheek fills out again, the tear trough flattens and the nasolabial area relaxes.
Often combined with lower eyelid surgery or fat transfer. If the jawline has dropped too, a full facelift is the right procedure.
Who it suits, and who it doesn’t
Suitable usually between the late thirties and late fifties, with a dropped cheek, a marked tear trough and a tired expression but a still-firm jawline.
Not: when the neck and jawline have dropped too, then a facelift; in very slim faces lacking volume, where fat transfer achieves more; with nicotine; with previous lower lid surgery without assessment.
The approaches in detail
Temporal, endoscopic
Small incisions behind the hairline; the mid-face is released with a camera and lifted. No visible scar, often combined with a temporal lift.
Through the lower lid
Incision under the lashes, direct access to the tear trough. Very effective for a marked trough, but with the risk of a changed lid position. Only with experienced surgeons.
Through the mouth
Access from inside, no external scar. Combined with the other approaches.
Midface lift, facelift or fat transfer?
- Midface lift, when the cheek has dropped but jawline and neck are still fine.
- Facelift, when jawline and neck have given way too, a deep-plane facelift addresses the mid-face anyway.
- Fat transfer, when the problem is volume loss rather than descent. Often a combination is the best answer.
An honest surgeon tells you which of these three works for you, even when it's the smaller procedure.
The right time
- When the cheek has dropped but the jawline is still defined.
- Blood pressure controlled, smoke-free for several weeks before and after.
- Three months in which you can live with residual swelling.
- Previous lower lid surgery assessed beforehand.
The process in Turkey
Before you travel
Blood tests, blood pressure controlled, no blood thinners, stop smoking.
Arrival
The day before surgery.
Surgery day
Markings sitting up, consent, general anaesthetic, one and a half to three hours.
Days 1-7
Marked mid-face swelling, bruising, tightness. Head elevated, cooling. Stitches at seven days.
Clearance and flight home
Usually after about a week, and only once the surgeon clears you.
Healing week by week
The part clinic websites cover in one sentence, and the most important.
Heavy mid-face swelling, more than after a facelift. Chewing feels odd.
Stitches out, bruising fades. Cheeks still clearly swollen.
Presentable with make-up. The cheeks look fuller than they will be.
Swelling recedes slowly. Only now does the natural look emerge.
Final result.
What nobody likes to say
- Swelling lasts longer than after almost any other facial procedure, two to three months.
- At week four you'll think it's too much. It's swelling.
- With a lower lid approach the lid position can change; that belongs in the consent conversation.
- If the jawline has dropped too, a midface lift alone looks unbalanced.
- It doesn't replace volume, in very slim faces fat transfer often achieves more.
Risks
General surgical risks: bleeding, infection, delayed wound healing, blood clots (DVT and pulmonary embolism), anaesthetic complications. Procedure-specific: prolonged swelling, asymmetry, change in lower lid position up to ectropion with a lid approach, nerve branch injury with temporary weakness, palpable fixation points, revision.
Two risks are particular to going abroad: combining several procedures under one long anaesthetic, and the flight home. Both belong in the surgeon’s consultation, not the quote. In full: Cosmetic surgery abroad.
Aftercare at home
In addition to general aftercare: judge the result no earlier than three months, before that most of it is swelling. No pressure on the cheeks, don't sleep on your face, no exercise for six weeks. With a lower lid approach, watch for dry eyes and lid closure and see an ophthalmologist at home if anything is off.
What that looks like for women from the UK and Ireland is on the country pages.
What a quote should contain
I give no prices here. Not because I don’t know them, but because any figure without an examination is misleading, and because this site also serves countries where price advertising for cosmetic surgery is restricted. A reputable quote for a midface lift is itemised by surgeon, anaesthetic, hospital stay, materials and aftercare, and it states what isn’t included. When two quotes differ widely, it’s almost always the surgeon’s experience, the materials, the hospital or the length of stay. I’ll walk you through the clinic’s actual quote line by line.
Common questions
Midface lift or facelift?
Midface when only the cheek has dropped. Facelift when jawline and neck have given way too.
How long does the swelling last?
Markedly two to three weeks, with residual swelling up to three months.
Is there a visible scar?
With the temporal approach no; with the lower lid approach a fine scar under the lashes.
Can my lower lid change?
With the lid approach yes, that belongs in the consent conversation.
How long in Turkey?
Usually one week. The surgeon clears the flight home.
How long am I off work?
Two to three weeks, until bruising is concealable.
How long does it last?
Several years; the face keeps ageing.
Is fat transfer an alternative?
For volume loss yes, for true descent no. Often the combination is best.
What does a midface lift cost in Turkey?
It depends on approach and combination. I give no figures.
From what age?
Usually late thirties to late fifties. Findings matter more than age.
Let’s talk it through, without pressure
Twenty minutes, no obligation. We start by working out whether surgery is the right step for you at all, and whether now is the right time.
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This text does not replace a surgeon’s consent conversation. Timings are typical courses, not promises; yours may differ. Ivy Beside deliberately gives no prices and names no surgeons.