Facial Contouring Q&A 2. Nonunion. Cheek Sagging. Does It Really Happen?

Hello. This is Dr. Jo Hyun-woo, Director of Iptae Plastic Surgery.

Are you all getting through the Monday blues well?

Recently, fine dust has been severe.

It is a period when caution is needed for outdoor activities.

Today is the second installment of the Facial Contouring Q&A series.

This post is about nonunion and cheek sagging after zygoma reduction surgery.

Q. During zygoma reduction surgery, do nonunion and cheek sagging really happen?

A. To prevent nonunion after zygoma reduction surgery, chewing exercise should be limited for about 6 weeks.

If the surgery is performed accurately, nonunion almost never occurs as long as you are careful during the bone-healing period.

If you avoid excessively chewing hard or tough foods that put strain on the bone,

a CT scan 6 weeks after surgery can confirm that the bone has healed well.

In the case of standard zygoma reduction surgery, cheek sagging can occur in the direction of gravity because the dissection range through the intraoral approach is wider than in Quick Zygoma, but the amount of sagging is small, and fewer than 2% of patients feel that their cheeks have sagged.

In the case of Quick Zygoma, sagging occurs very rarely.

Therefore, nonunion and cheek sagging can occur during zygoma reduction surgery, but they can be sufficiently prevented through the skill of the medical team performing the surgery and careful postoperative care.