Cheek Reduction Surgery
Cheek reduction surgery can really slim down the cheeks tremendously and is a great operation.
Buccal fat is a natural fat pad that has a capsule. This makes it easy to take out as one single pocket of fat without having to use liposuction. A small incision is made inside the mouth and it is gently teased out. It is a painless operation with little recovery.
No external incisions on the face are needed. Downtime is very little and you can go back to work the next day. Typically, it takes at least a few months to see the final results, but there is some swelling in the cheek area that takes time to come down.
This can be done either in the office totally awake or if you want, we can do this with some twilight anesthesia. It is a well tolerated procedure.
Buccal fat removal can also be done at the same time as a facelift using the same incisions. This can slim down the face very well and add to the result of the facelift.
The risks of buccal fat excision are very small and the satisfaction rate is very high.
Plastic surgeons are asked to reduce fat everywhere on the body, including the neck and face. Excess fat in the face, however, is often not just due to being overweight. In fact, many patients who consider themselves with “chubby cheeks” are slim and have appropriate weight. These patients are typically born with this excess facial fat, which normally doesn’t respond to a healthy diet or regular exercise.
Patients who want to slim the face can consider cheek fat reduction surgery, also known as buccal fat reduction. The minor procedure removes a majority of this mid facial cheek fat via small incisions inside the mouth. The procedure typically takes less than an hour and has quick recovery.
One goal of buccal fat reduction is to reduce attention to the excessive chubby cheeks in the mid facial area. As a result of volume reduction from plastic surgery, the upper cheeks appear secondarily enhanced, which is desired. Plastic surgeons don’t want to create a gaunt appearance, but rather sculpt and contour the face to be more proportionate. Patients after cosmetic cheek fat surgery may also report appearing more mature and less “childish”, which is also desirable for these patients. Others have reported less cheek biting after cheek fat volume reduction surgery too.
