How Risky is Jowl Liposuction?

I have never had an injury to the marginal mandibular nerve with jowl liposuction, but I am always cautious when liposuctioning in this area and am aware of where the typical position of the nerve is located when I operate.
I explain to all patients that undergo liposuction here the risks of injury, and the possibility of the serious change in the way the mouth looks if the nerve is injured. It is a very delicate, and sensitive nerve so there has to be significant amount of fat around the jowls to incur the risk. All of that being said if there is significant fat in the jowls, and the jaw line is otherwise tight then that area of the face needs to undergo careful liposuction to sharpen the jawline and give a more youthful appearance in addition to removing the fat in the submittal (chin) area. Generally speaking, the recovery from submental liposuction is the easiest area to recover from, and with careful, patient infiltration of the numbing fluid, (which also limits bleeding and therefore bruising), can easily be performed under a local anesthetic with very little pain, bleeding and postoperative bruising. The results can really be quick striking in changing the shape of the face and make the patient look younger because of the cleaner jaw line, but also makes the patient appear thinner as the heaviness and fullness of the jowls is removed and the overall face looks thinner.

It’s important to exercise extreme
caution when performing liposuction of the jowl region.  In this area the marginal mandibular
nerve lies in a superficial location where it can be easily injured.  Injury of this nerve can have
significant consequences including distortion of the lips when patients smile.

Although injuries to the marginal
mandibular nerve are uncommon they do occasionally occur.  The vast majority of these injuries
result from the nerve being stretched and tend to resolve with time.  In rare cases injuries may be
permanent.

For this reason it’s important to
consult a board certified plastic surgeon who understands the anatomy in this
area.  Under these circumstances
the procedure can be performed safely.

  It is very rare to get nerve loss  from liposuction of the jowls, since the nerve is deep to the muscle and there is no fat in that area. The best treatment for jowls is not  liposuction, it is re-suspending the jowls back up into the buccal space where they descended down from with either a mini lift or a face lift. Liposuction of the jowls can leave irregularities and undulations in that area, so we  do not perform that procedure