By Dr Marc Divaris
Take a seat and hold a mirror in your hand. Look at your reflection, then tilt your head backwards. See how much younger you look!
It is nothing like when you lift your oval with your fingers in front of your bathroom mirror, which gives a slightly “pulled” look. This rejuvenation in a lying down position has a threefold effect.
You will notice that your face becomes triangular again, with the cheekbones lifted and the jowls disappearing, and the oval looks slimmer. The distance between the lower eyelid and the start of the cheek is shortened. As a result, the lower eyelid no longer looks hollow and the cheekbones recover their roundness. The corner of the mouth no longer droops, and the neck is tightened.
The aim of the mirror lift is to give the patient almost the same appearance when they are standing up as when they are lying down. During their fi rst appointment, I ask my patients to tilt their head backwards which allows them to see the difference and, above all, understand how the tissues and fat stores will move and be repositioned. This simple movement helps them understand the procedure more than any computer simulation would.
Skulls with asymmetrical eye sockets
Before developing this technique, I studied hundreds of skulls in the Musée de l’Homme and noticed that we all have slightly asymmetrical eye sockets, with one strong side to our face and one weaker side, which translates as an “adult” side and a “child” side. On the child side, the eye and eye socket are smaller, the cheekbone is higher, and the distance between the cheekbone and the nose is shorter, with the chin/cheekbone line slanting upwards. We all have a favourite side of our face – generally our “child” side – and this is the side we show when we are posing for a photo or a selfie.
Temporal and pre-auricular incision
The operation begins with an incision into the temple and in front of the ear in order to isolate the fat compartments in this third of the face. The tissues are pulled upwards and repositioned on the cheekbone, thus reducing the distance between the junction of the lower eyelid and cheekbone, which has a beautifying effect. This is because the higher the fat compartments are, the more apparent the triangular shape is, and it also makes the jowls disappear.
Tightening the skin and muscles
The second part of the lift focuses on tightening the skin and muscles, which slant upwards on your child side and slant downwards on your adult side. This is the vector of rejuvenation. This centre-facial lifting technique is original because it fully preserves the eyelids’ integrity, given that no incisions are made into the lower eyelids. The expression is improved by filling any under-eye hollows, which corrects the eye’s tendency to become rounded due to aging. Patients are satisfied because the results are long-lasting and yet they still look like themselves.
Dr Marc Divaris: Plastic surgeon, hospital practitioner in the plastic and maxillofacial department (Salpêtrière Hospital – Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris VI)
More information: marc-divaris.com
