Is It Good to Combine Facial Contouring Surgery and Buccal Fat Removal?

Hello. I am Director Jo Hyun-woo of IP-Two Plastic Surgery.

In the previous column, I explained surgeries that are good to combine with facial contouring surgery.

Today, I would like to talk about buccal fat removal, which can be performed at the same time as facial contouring surgery.

Buccal fat refers to the fat in our face that extends from the outer side of the nasolabial fold to the temple.

Unlike subcutaneous fat, this buccal fat is not dispersed beneath the skin; instead, it is gathered in a pocket-like form in a deeper area than the facial chewing muscles.

Rather than being suctioned out with a machine like ordinary liposuction, it is removed by making an incision inside the mouth and taking out the fat pocket.

The surgery takes about 10 minutes, including fat removal and suturing.

When facial contouring surgery is performed, an incision is made inside the mouth, so in many cases buccal fat removal is done using that incision.

At this time, it is important to have an accurate understanding of the bones and soft tissues that determine facial contours.

If the muscles covering the facial bones are severely developed, or if the face has a lot of fat and looks chubby and large, planning the surgery together with methods that reduce facial fat and muscle can lead to a more satisfying frontal effect and surgical result.

Then I will show a real patient's before-and-after case.

3D zygoma reduction, square jaw surgery, corticotomy, buccal fat removal

Square jaw surgery, corticotomy, chin surgery, buccal fat removal

In our face, you can think of cases where the flesh outside the lips appears protruded, or where the cheek flesh is sometimes bitten inside the mouth.

Because the amount of buccal fat can differ slightly from person to person, it is important to remove the fat while considering the difference in volume between both cheeks.

If too much fat is removed, it can lead to deeper nasolabial folds and cheeks that appear severely sunken.

This is what the removed buccal fat actually looks like.

If you receive the procedure properly from a specialist with extensive surgical experience, it is a very simple treatment.

However, because there are many salivary ducts and facial nerves around the buccal fat area, you should definitely receive surgery from a specialist with abundant anatomical knowledge of the facial bones, soft tissues, and facial nerves through sufficient preoperative consultation. Then you can obtain safe and more satisfying surgical results.

Thank you.