A cheek lift, or midface lift, repositions the soft tissue of the cheek upward, usually through an incision at the lower eyelid or the temple. It sits between lower eyelid surgery and a full facelift in scope, and no national body publishes an average for it. The brackets that do exist are the American Society of Plastic Surgeons averages for a lower blepharoplasty, $3,876, and for a facelift (rhytidectomy), $11,395, both surgeon fees excluding anesthesia and facility.
Ask providers for a written price
What the operation actually addresses
Descent of the cheek pad, the hollow that appears beneath the lower eyelid as it falls, and the fold that deepens beside the nose. It does not address the jawline or the neck, which are a facelift's territory, and it does not remove eyelid skin, which is blepharoplasty. Patients are frequently examined for a combination, and the combination is quoted as one operation.
The alternative that competes with it on price
Cheek augmentation with implants is a different way of addressing a flat or descended midface, and ASPS does publish an average for that: cheek implants (malar augmentation) at $3,876 as a surgeon fee. The two operations are not interchangeable clinically, but a patient being quoted for both should know that one has a published benchmark and the other does not.
Why quotes vary and what makes them comparable
Access route and depth of dissection vary between surgeons, and ASPS names the type of procedure used as one of three drivers of the surgeon fee. A written description of the incision, the plane and whether anything is being combined is what turns two numbers into a comparison. Without it, a lower quote may simply be a smaller operation.
Questions people ask about cheek lift
What does a cheek lift cost in the US?
No separate national average is published. It sits between the ASPS lower blepharoplasty average of $3,876 and the facelift average of $11,395, both surgeon fees.
How is it different from cheek implants?
A lift repositions your own tissue; implants add volume. ASPS publishes an average of $3,876 for cheek implants (malar augmentation).
Does it treat the jawline?
No. The jawline and neck are a facelift's territory, and the two are often combined in one operation.
Why do quotes differ so much?
Because the access route and depth vary. Ask for a written description of what each surgeon proposes.