Buccal fat reduction isn’t for everyone. A 2023 study on the procedure stresses that “appropriate patient selection is critical for preventing an aged or unnatural appearance.”
Ideal candidates are healthy nonsmokers with normal BMIs and good (ideally high) cheekbones, who have chubby cheeks or a round face due to an abundance of buccal fat.
Both men and women can benefit from the surgery, though male patients may be more interested in pairing it with cheek, chin, and jaw augmentation, with either dermal fillers or implants, to create even more sharply defined facial features.
If you’re naturally lean, removing 100% of the buccal fat pads may not be wise, as the results could eventually make you appear more mature than you are. In these cases, a board-certified plastic surgeon or facial plastic surgeon can advise if a partial buccal fat removal procedure (where just a portion of the buccal fat pads is removed) could be an option for you.
“As we age, the face naturally loses volume, and having a reduction in facial fatty tissue may lead to a gaunt look over time,” says Dr. Matthew Richardson, a facial plastic surgeon in Frisco, Texas. For this reason, many think it’s not a good idea to perform buccal fat removal on patients who already have a slim face and just want more definition.
During your initial consultation, your provider will examine your face to ensure it’s the buccal fat pads that are contributing to the roundness. People who have wide cheeks from overdeveloped jaw muscles will have a better result from Botox or another neuromodulator, which can relax the masseter muscle and slim the face over time.
“People with poor cheekbone definition may need to enhance them with dermal fillers, fat transfer, or cheek implants before or at the same time as the procedure to achieve an aesthetically pleasant result with buccal fat removal,” Dr. Mesa explains.
