Patients seeking this procedure complain that they have “chipmunk cheeks” or “chubby cheeks” and they don’t like their perpetual baby face. Some even feel that they look swollen. Larger than usual buccal fat pads may be genetic or due to some other factor. This cosmetic procedure is not intended to remove fat that is the result of being overweight. It is helpful to consider how your mother and father have aged to determine if you will lose the baby fat and gain gradual definition or if you may be genetically predisposed to “chubby cheeks” that won’t go away.“Surgeon to the stars, Raj Kanodia” - E! “Doc Hollywood - What’s it like to see your work onscreen but never be able to take credit for it? For children, chubby cheeks are very cute and a sign of youthfulness. As we age, that cheek fat slowly dissipates but when it doesn’t, the excess cheek fat (buccal fat) can cause a puffiness of the lower face that makes the adult face look fat. I carefully assess whether this is from excess buccal fat or from other problem areas. If I can isolate the cause as being from excess cheek fat, then Buccal Fat Removal is for you. Excess Cheek Fat is easily removed with local anesthesia only.
The fat tissue deep inside the jowl can be exposed through the incision. The surgeon will then carefully eliminate the unnecessary fat in the patient’s jowl and control the bleeding meticulously. Once the procedure is done, the surgeon will stitch the mucous membrane incision with dissolvable threads. Buccal fat pads removal can be performed in conjunction with other procedures such as cheekbone or malar reduction to further enhance the facial contours and help patients achieve a permanent V-line facial shape.
Who Can Perform It and Where? As with all surgical procedures buccal fat removal should be performed by a qualified and skilled plastic surgeon whose background and experience in this procedure you have researched and have had confirmed to you by the surgery. The procedure, as with all surgery, should be performed in a hospital or an accredited surgical suite.
Do you look in the mirror and feel subconscious about chubby cheeks? A special procedure called cheek reduction, or buccal fat removal, slims your face and boosts confidence. Board-certified plastic surgeon Adam J. Rubinstein, M.D., F.A.C.S., removes puffy cheeks without scarring in the comfort of his Aventura, FL office convenient to all Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and South Florida residents.
In the older adage of facial aging, the thought was that we aged because gravity simply took its course. But, in fact, if you were to look at an old photograph of yourself, you will notice that much more is involved than simply the sagging of skin. It is now recognized that with age we tend to lose a youthful volume to our faces. Over time our faces not only sags but also deflates.
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.
Ultimately, Dr. White says that when performed by an experienced board certified plastic surgeon, buccal fat reduction can provide patients with an effective, relatively simple option for shedding facial fullness to reveal more refined facial contours and structure. Typically, he adds, the procedure assists his patients in gaining improved confidence by helping them overcome a challenging cosmetic concern. Dr. Matthew White is a double-board certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon and a leading authority on the topic of facial aging. He is currently the Director of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery within the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center.
The harmony of the facial structures may be disrupted as a result of hereditary factors, the aging process or through injury. Often facial implant surgery is the best solution to restore or enhance natural angles and correct the proportion of three main facial structures - the chin, cheek and jaw.
