Can cheekbone asymmetry be corrected with cheekbone reduction surgery?

Hello, I am Dr. Jo Hyun-woo of Ipche Sculpture Plastic Surgery.

Today, I’d like to talk about cheekbone asymmetry, which many patients worry about.

In a previous column, I explained how facial asymmetry can be addressed through contouring surgery.

There are many cases in which simple problems can be solved with contouring surgery.

However, there is no surgical method that can fundamentally correct facial asymmetry 100%.

Let me show you one CT image.

This is a CT scan of a patient with a typical facial skeleton. Do you see the asymmetry?

During fetal development, the left and right sides of our face differentiate from different cells, and the bones on both sides fuse together.

To put it in terms of twins, it is like the left and right sides of identical twins’ faces.

Just as even identical twins look slightly different when examined closely, the left and right sides of our faces are bound to be different as well.

Looking at the CT image above:

• First, you can see asymmetry in the cheekbones. The left cheekbone is positioned higher than the right cheekbone.

• The shape of the eye sockets also differs greatly between the left and right sides. The difference in height is also due to the different positions of these eye sockets.

• In addition, if you look at the lower jawbone, it is slightly rotated to the right, and the degree of prominence of the outer cortex is also different.

There are many other differences if examined in detail, but to summarize for now, how can surgery be used to address this kind of asymmetry?

If the cheekbones are at different heights, one side can be fixed higher with 3D cheekbone reduction surgery.

However, because the cheekbone position on the skull remains unchanged, it cannot be corrected 100%. Still, there is no need to be disappointed.

If it is not 100%, there are still ways to improve this kind of asymmetry.

I will show you a few cases and explain when correction is possible.

When 230-degree 3D cheekbone reduction surgery was performed without correcting left-right asymmetry

Before surgery

This patient had a particularly developed left cheekbone.

During consultation, I recommended either operating on only one cheekbone or performing 3D cheekbone reduction surgery to correct the left-right asymmetry.

The patient wanted to reduce both sides as much as possible with a simple procedure.

After surgery

This is the patient’s photo after surgery.

Because the procedure was performed as 230-degree 3D cheekbone reduction surgery, both sides were moved inward by the same amount as the patient’s own bone thickness.

However, compared to before surgery, the asymmetry appears less noticeable.

As the degree of protrusion decreases, asymmetry becomes much less apparent, so cheekbone surgery alone can make asymmetry look less severe.

The second case is one in which only one cheekbone was operated on because one side was larger.

When 230-degree 3D cheekbone reduction surgery was performed on only one cheekbone

Before surgery

This is a photo before surgery.

As you can see from the photo, there are cases where only one side stands out more prominently.

In such cases, surgery may be performed on only one side.

Looking at the after-surgery photo:

After surgery

You can see that the left-right asymmetry has improved significantly.

That is why I explain to patients that if one side seems much larger, operating on only that side can also be a good option.

The third case is one in which left-right asymmetry was corrected through 3D cheekbone reduction surgery.

With 3D cheekbone surgery, if one cheekbone is larger, the 45-degree cheekbone area can be trimmed a bit more, and the amount pushed inward can be adjusted differently on the left and right sides for more efficient correction.

When left-right asymmetry was corrected through 3D cheekbone reduction surgery

Before surgery

Looking at the preoperative photo, this patient’s right 45-degree cheekbone appears larger, and the left lateral cheekbone protrudes more.

In such cases, when planning surgery, the amount of bone removed from the 45-degree cheekbone can be made slightly larger, and the amount pushed inward on the 45-degree side can be made different between the left and right sides.

Therefore, by adjusting the amount moved inward differently, asymmetry can be corrected to some extent.

Looking at the after-surgery photo:

After surgery

You can see that the difference between the right and left sides has been greatly reduced.

It is difficult to correct a difference in the upper and lower height of the cheekbones, but because the larger side can be reduced and moved inward more, this level of correction is entirely possible.

So far, I have explained how to correct cheekbone asymmetry through several cases.

As I said at the beginning, there is no surgical method that can make both sides exactly the same 100%.

However, depending on the patient’s case, asymmetry can be corrected to a degree that can be sufficiently improved.

If you are worried about facial asymmetry, don’t worry too much and try getting a consultation—you may get a good result.

Thank you.