Hollow Face Treatment in Cincinnati | Harmon Facial Plastic Surgery
Discover the causes of a hollow or sunken face, how aging, genetics, and volume loss affect your appearance, and explore both surgical and non-surgical treatments to restore natural-looking fullness with Dr. Harmon.
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What Is a Hollow Face?
The term hollow face refers to a lack of volume in the cheek. The cheek region extends from the lower border of the eyelid to:
- The nasolabial – also known as the melolabial – fold that borders the upper lip
- Across a bony prominence that projects on the side of the face just under the lateral edge of the eye
The cheek tapers off inferiorly, narrowing to form an upside-down triangle/pyramid in the face.
A hollow face is concerning to people because it can make them look older and appear less healthy than they are. Hollow face is a common reason people from all over the country seek the expertise of Dr. Jeffrey Harmon in Cincinnati, Ohio. These patients are seeking an effective, natural-appearing treatment for hollow face that does not make them look overfilled or puffy.
A Hollow Face Develops for Two (2) Reasons
There are two (2) primary reasons for hollow face:
- Midface/cheek deflation due to fat loss and/or the existing fat falling forward over a relatively fixed confluence of soft tissue in the cheek called the zygomaticocutaneous ligament (ZMC).
- Poor volume since birth that is due to a lack of fat in the multiple fat compartments in the face and/or poor projection of the primary cheekbone, called the maxilla.
Midface deflation usually occurs gradually over time and is generally associated with aging, though significant and particularly rapid weight loss can worsen the appearance of hollow face.
Regardless of whether hollow face develops due to a combination of lost and fallen volume or was present from birth, the overall effect is a flattening of the natural curves that impart a youthful appearance to the cheeks.
Dr. Jeffrey Harmon in Cincinnati, Ohio is An Expert at Treating Hollow Face
Dr. Harmon is an impeccably trained, experienced, and extremely conscientious expert in facial plastic surgery. His education, training, and years of experience in independent practice have been focused exclusively on the surgical and non-surgical care of the face and neck. He is one of the few surgeons in the world – and the only surgeon in Cincinnati and the broader Midwest – fellowship-trained in the extended deep plane facelift, a gold standard approach to addressing hollow face, by the surgeon who developed the technique.
Dr. Harmon, as a facial plastic surgeon, assesses his patients with a refined eye. He also offers a wider variety of both surgical and non-surgical procedures than, for example, from non-surgeon providers. For example, the most appropriate approach may simply be by lifting the cheek or it could be a combination of lifting volume and adding volume in a conservative, yet effective, manner.
There Are Multiple Treatment Options for Hollow Face
Individuals who are approximately in their early 40s or younger are less likely to have fallen, drooping tissue and more likely to lack of volume from an early age. As a result, adding volume to the cheeks in these individuals is likely the most appropriate approach. Options for adding volume include:
- Hyaluronic acid fillers (non-surgical)
- Facial fat grafting (surgical)
The benefits of hyaluronic acid fillers are:
- They can be administered in a treatment room outside of the operating room
- They do not require the removal of fat from another part of the body
However, the primary effects of hyaluronic acid fillers are temporary and typically six (6) to eighteen (18) months according to most manufacturers of these products.
Fat grafting is an alternative procedure in which a small amount of fat is removed from the legs or abdomen (i.e. stomach/belly) by suction through a small cannula and placed in the face in much the same way that hyaluronic acid filler is placed in the cheeks. And while fat grafting is technically a surgical procedure, it can be done under local anesthesia without going to sleep in a minimally invasive manner. Moreover, the surviving fat tends to last much longer, typically years. Many younger patients undergo a trial of hyaluronic acid filler then transition to fat grafting the cheeks when they are ready.
Patients in their mid-40s and older often benefit from a surgical lift of their cheeks along with fat grafting if that fallen, drooping volume has also decreased in size. In other words, the deep plane facelift can lift the cheek/midface volume that is present while fat grafting is used conservatively to complement or enhance the results of the lift. This is in contrast to older approaches to facelifting that do not lift the cheeks. Many people receive too much fat grafting with these approaches to make up for a lack of cheek lift. Combined deep plane face surgery and fat grafting can prevent that problem.
Written by Dr. Harmon
Discover the expertise and compassionate care of Dr. Jeff Harmon, a fellowship-trained facial plastic surgeon deeply rooted in the Cincinnati community. A former collegiate athlete and Cornell University graduate, Dr. Harmon brings discipline, precision, and a global perspective to his surgical practice—refined through elite fellowship training in New York City.
Located in Hyde Park, Harmon Facial Plastic Surgery proudly serves patients throughout the Cincinnati area offering personalized facial aesthetics with world-class skill and a hometown heart.