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It’s simple, safe and virtually painless, say experts, and can be performed in a doctor’s office under local anesthetic. Incredibly, the results are more natural-looking than a face-lift – yet it costs only about half as much. In the technique, called submalar augmentation, small silicone implants are inserted in the cheeks, which restore the fullness and healthy bloom that’s lost with age.

“This is a revolutionary advance in facial cosmetic surgery,” declared Dr. William Binder, assistant clinical professor of head and neck surgery at UCLA. “It’s true – you never have to look old again. The procedure can smooth and eliminate the deep wrinkles which develop beside the corners of the mouth. It can take 10 to 15 years off your appearance and give you back the young look that advancing age has stolen away.“ Until the development of this technique, plastic surgery had nothing to solve the main problem of aging on the central third of the face from the eyes to the mouth. “In youth, there is an abundance of fatty tissue in the middle third of the face. As we age, this tissue gradually diminishes in quality and in quantity. The skin then collapses downward. So around age 35 or so, we start to notice a drawn hollowness in the face. We begin to appear worn and haggard, with deep creases and flat areas giving out faces and old appearance.

“Submalar augmentation can reverse this effect, filling out the middle third of the face and bringing back a glow of youth. The results are often superior to a more expensive face-lift,” said Dr. Binder, who’s performed the procedure nearly 300 times. “In a face-lift, we take the skin and stretch it. We are trying to smooth the skin, but if you have a hollow underneath, you’re trying to stretch the skin over nothing. If you do that enough, you produce an unnatural look, like you’re wearing a mask. With submalar augmentation, we’re not stretching the skin – we’re restoring the fullness the aging process has taken away. It presents an alternative to a face-lift for people who want something to make them look younger. If a face-lift is required in later years, submalar augmentation can enhance the results.”

Bernadine Mayden, 49, underwent the procedure five years ago when it was being pioneered – and she’s delighted with the results. “People think I’m 5 to 15 years younger that I really am!” she told the ENQUIRER. “The surgery was easy and quick. The implants put new firmness and fullness in my cheeks and erased the lines around my mouth. I think I look better now than when I was 35.” Diane Peterson, 50, had the procedure in 1988 and says: “The results have been absolutely wonderful. People have commented on my beautiful skin, which is now firm and young-looking. The skin around my mouth has become much smoother. Friends have said the procedure took 10 years or more off my age.”

Submalar augmentation costs from $2,000 to $3,000, while a face-lift starts at around $5,000 in the Los Angeles area, said Dr. Binder. Cheek implants have been done for years, but they’ve been relatively unsuccessful. However, Dr. Binder has pioneered the new procedure during the last eight years, and his design for implants has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The procedure is now being performed by about 350 plastic surgeons around the country, he said. “This is fantastic!” declared plastic surgeon Geoffrey Tobias M.D., a surgery instructor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

“It’s a very safe, simple, quickly done procedure with a minimum of complications. It sounds like a lot of puff but when you see the patients in front of you, before the procedure and then after, it’s almost hard to believe!”