Only one buccal fat pad?

Very interesting question.  In my practice,  I have found that it is highly unusual to find only one buccal fat pad.  Sometimes I find in men that the buccinator muscle is more developed, and it can take a little bit more time to find the buccal fat pad. That being said, I believe that your surgeon did the right thing.  The last thing that you want is injury to a nerve, duct or artery in the buccal space.  At this time, the best thing to do would be to let your face heal from the procedure, and have close follow up to ensure adequate symmetry.  Best of luck.  

In my practice, very rarely I found patients that have "no buccal fat"  or "very small buccal fat" in one side of the face through the standard approach. In these very few cases I have to use a second incision inside the mouth to find the "missing" buccal fat. Finding a "missing" buccal fat is not easy at all and it requires a lot of experience with the procedure.  I do believe your surgeon did the correct thing not trying to find the unable to find buccal fat pad in order to avoid having an artery or nerve damaged during the procedure.