Revisiting the Ligament Line of the Face: A New Understanding for Filling the Fixed and Mobile Face

Abstract

Cosmetic surgeons have conventionally used the line of ligaments to guide facial lifting or volumizing procedures. However, this line is only partially reliable in determining the limits of the mobile and fixed face, as the low point of this line was described in front of the movable jowl fat. This article proposes a new understanding of the ligament. To address this concept, the authors entitled this line the functional ligament line. This article links facial anatomy and its changes during movements to the injectable fillers according to their mechanism of action and rheologic properties.

Keywords: Calcium hydroxyapatite; Cosmetic procedures; Fillers; Fixed face; Hyaluronic acid; Ligament line; Mobile face; Poly-L- Lactic acid.