Guide:

• What Is Buccal Fat Removal?
• What Is Cheek Liposuction?
• What Results Can I Expect?
• What Is Recovery Like?
• How Is It Done?
• What Are The Risks Involved?
• Am I A Suitable Candidate?
• How Much Does It Cost?
• What Are The Benefits?
• Cheek Liposuction vs. Buccal Fat Removal: Which Is Right For Me?

If you want to reshape or slim down your mid to lower face? Both cheek liposuction and buccal fat pad removal may be excellent options for creating a more chiseled face shape.  But you may be a better candidate for one than the other based on your specific goals and preferences. Make sure that no matter which procedure you choose, you team up with a board-certified plastic surgeon experienced in cheek reduction who knows the right amount of fat to remove without giving your face an overly hollow appearance.

What Is Buccal Fat Removal?

Buccal fat pad removal, sometimes known as buccal lipectomy or cheek reduction surgery, is a procedure in which a particular tissue of cheek fat, the buccal fat pad, is surgically cut out. According to Cleveland Clinic, buccal fat removal can highlight the bone structure of your face, especially your cheekbones and the hollows between your cheekbones and jawline.

What Is Cheek Liposuction?

While cheek liposuction also permanently removes fat from the face, it is different from buccal fat excision as it involves suctioning out (rather than cutting out) fat cells in the cheeks, not targeting the buccal fat pads alone. Cheek liposuction is sometimes paired with a facelift, according to Healthline.

What Results Can I Expect?

Buccal fat removal

If you want to target the fat between your cheekbones and jawbones, this is your buccal fat. Removal is easy and quick with buccal fat pad removal. Everyone has buccal fat, but some have more than others. If you have a sizeable buccal fat pad, it can interrupt your facial harmony. Removing your buccal fat highlights the bone structure of your face, giving you a more contoured, mature look.

Cheek liposuction

During cheek liposuction, the fat cells are vacuumed from the area, highlighting the contour of your lower face. As you heal, your skin settles into the new shape of your slimmed-down cheeks, giving you a more defined jawline.

What Is Recovery Like?

Buccal fat removal

Here at The Kaplan Center, we send you home with instructions on caring for your incisions and include a mouth rinse to promote healing. You’ll need to follow a liquid diet for a couple of days as your incisions heal, and we’ll let you know when it’s safe to begin adding soft foods to your diet.

It’s normal to have some swelling, bruising, or numbness after surgery, but these symptoms will gradually fade as you heal. Seeing the final results may take months, but you should completely heal within about three weeks.

Cheek liposuction

You may have some soreness and swelling immediately after your cheek lipo, but this fades over time, and you can minimize it with over-the-counter medications. We’ll ask that you wear a compression garment over your head as you heal. The garment is much like the ones you’d wear after body contouring liposuction but fit for your jaw and neck area. You should fully recover within three to four weeks before seeing your thinner cheeks.

How Is It Done?

Buccal fat removal

When you visit The Kaplan Center for buccal fat removal, we’ll first apply a local anesthetic to numb the skin around your cheeks and prevent pain. If you’re having buccal fat pad removal on its own, you’ll be awake during the procedure, but we may recommend general anesthesia if combining it with another facial surgery.

A small incision will be made on the inside of your mouth on each side of your face so we can access the buccal fat pads. As the American Society of Plastic Surgeons mentions, if buccal fat removal is paired with a facelift, an additional incision may not need to be made inside the mouth to access the fat pads. We’ll then gently press on the fat pads before cutting and removing them. At the end, the incisions will be closed up with dissolvable sutures. The procedure typically takes no more than 30 minutes, and you’ll be free to go home the same day.

Cheek liposuction

Usually, a local anesthetic for cheek liposuction is applied unless you prefer general anesthesia. During a cheek liposuction procedure, fine incisions are made under your earlobe before we use a cannula attached to a suction device to destroy the fat tissue in your cheek. Patients sometimes choose to pair cheek liposuction with other procedures like the facelift.

Cheek liposuction usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, and you can go home immediately if you have it as a standalone procedure.

What Are The Risks Involved?

Neither buccal fat pad removal nor cheek liposuction yields any serious risks of complications, but like any type of surgery, it’s essential to be aware of the potential side effects. At The Kaplan Center, we’ve developed a thorough process for taking the proper precautions with each procedure to prevent the following complications.

Buccal fat removal

Risks associated with buccal fat pad removal surgery include:

• Infection 
• Injury to facial nerves 
• Damage to the salivary duct 
• Numbness 
• Asymmetry
• Overly hollow appearance

Cheek liposuction

Risks associated with cheek liposuction include:

• Infection
• Skin discoloration
• Excess bleeding during the procedure
• Bumps in skin
• Injury to facial nerves
• Numbness
• Seroma
• Fat embolism

Be aware that while cheek liposuction targets and permanently removes fat cells, if you gain a significant amount of weight after the procedure, new fat cells can develop in both the treated and untreated areas.

Am I A Suitable Candidate?

Buccal fat removal

If you’re unhappy with the fullness in your cheeks because it makes your face round, buccal fat excision can help rid you of your “chubby” cheeks. 

If you already have a narrow face, we typically don’t recommend buccal fat removal as it can give you a hollowed-out appearance. Cheek fat plays a massive role in a youthful appearance, and while removing excess can improve your facial contour, removing too much of it may prematurely age your face.

Suitable candidates for cheek reduction with buccal fat removal: 

• Don’t like the fullness of their cheeks, specifically in the area between the cheekbone and jawbone
• Are at a stable weight
• Are in good overall health
• Have a rounded face
• Don’t smoke
• Have realistic expectations

Cheek liposuction

Suitable candidates for liposuction to the cheeks:

• Are in good overall health
• Don’t like the fullness of their cheeks
• Are at a stable weight
• Have smooth skin with good elasticity
• Have good muscle tone
• Have thick skin
• Don’t smoke
• Have realistic expectations

We don’t recommend liposuction procedures to people with thin skin. In this instance, buccal fat removal may be the better option for you.

If you have cheek dimples, keep in mind that liposuction is known to sometimes enhance dimples in the skin.

How Much Does It Cost?

Buccal fat removal

Buccal fat pad removal typically ranges from $3,000-$6,000 here at The Kaplan Center. The cost of your buccal lipectomy depends on the extent of your procedure, your surgeon’s geographic location, and the type of anesthesia used.

Cheek liposuction

We offer liposuction to one area of the body, in this case, the cheeks, for $3,500 at The Kaplan Center.

What Are The Benefits?

Buccal fat removal

Benefits of buccal fat removal include:

• Permanently removes buccal fat pads
• Slims down “chubby” cheeks that cause an asymmetrical appearance
• Enhances your face’s natural bone structure
• Your facial contour has a more sculpted, chiseled appearance
• Low chance of complications
• Any scaring is inside your mouth

Cheek liposuction

Benefits of cheek liposuction include:

• Permanently removes fat cells from cheeks
• Produces a more sculpted and chiseled facial contour
• Low chance of complications

Cheek Liposuction vs. Buccal Fat Removal: Which Is Right For Me?

Both buccal fat pad removal and cheek liposuction are safe, simple procedures if done with the right hands and can help contour your face to reveal your bone structure, achieving a sharper, more balanced appearance.

If you want to reduce the size of your cheeks, schedule a consultation with Dr. Gordon Kaplan, New Jersey and New York plastic surgeon renowned for giving patients exceptional facial plastic surgery results. He’ll listen closely to your goals, assess your face, and recommend the best next step to help you achieve a slimmer facial contour.