meloplasty

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek [Term?] (“an apple, a cheek”) + -plasty. Compare French méloplastie.

Noun

meloplasty (plural meloplasties)

1. (surgery) The operation of restoring or repairing a cheek which has been wholly or partially destroyed.
   • 1897, Hermann Tillmanns, ‎Lewis Atterbury Stimson, A Text-book of Surgery: Regional surgery, page 235:

     Acquired macrostoma, from defects following noma, for instance, is remedied according to the rules for cheiloplasty (see § 31) or meloplasty (see § 33) .

2. (surgery) The surgical lifting and repositioning the tissues in the cheeks and lower eyelids to create a more youthful appearance.
   • 1984, Symposium on Problems and Complications in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of the Face, page 183:

     In secondary meloplasty, it is presumed that the patient is several years older than at the time of the primary meloplasty, at least for the routine secondary procedures.

   • 2009, Berish Strauch, ‎Luis O. Vasconez, M.d., ‎Elizabeth J. Hall-Findlay, Grabb's Encyclopedia of Flaps - Volume 1:

     When the original face-lift has been performed and it pulls down on the earlobe, a tight, tapered lobe often follows. It is unsightly and makes difficult a secondary meloplasty without an obvious scar below the lobe.

Derived terms

• meloplastic

Anagrams

• plasmolyte