Can buccal fat be used for fat transfer to lips or cheeks?

Question

I was wondering because I have A LOT of buccal fat. As in, even when I am thin and in great shape my face makes me appear 20 lbs heavier than I really am. My main concern is, I do not want to look too sunken in and aged as I grow older (I am 22). I was curious if it could be used to be injected into cheeks or lips to add more aesthetically pleasing volume to different areas of the face. Thank you in advance for your responses!

John Mesa, MD · Answer

Buccal fat pads removed through the mouth cannot be used to augment any other area of the body (eg. lips). The reason is that once the buccal at pad enters the oral cavity, it becomes contaminated with normal oral flora. Therefore this bacteria contaminated buccal pat pad could cause a severe, sometimes life threatening infection if transplanted elsewhere. An exception to this is when the buccal fat pad is removed though a deep plane facelift incision. In this case, the fat is removed through the cheek, rather the mouth, thus making the fat non bacteria contaminated and therefore suitable for transplantation inanothir part of the body.

Roger Tsai, MD · Answer

Great question!  I would not use the fat from a buccal lipectomy to be used as fat grafting.  The mouth has a lot of bacteria and by the time the fat is removed, it becomes contaminated.  Its not wise to injected fat that has been contaminated as this will increase the chances of infection.  You want to use fat that is clean and reduce the risks of infection.  Therefore I would not use the buccal fat for fat grafting for this reason.
Best of luck and hope this information helps!
- Dr. Roger Tsai  @DrRogerTsai
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Dallas Buchanan, MD · Answer

Thank you for your questions. While it is possible for buccal fat to be broken down and processed for injection, it is probably easier to harvest fat needed for facial fat injection from another location using standard techniques. Discuss your options with your board certified plastic surgeon.Best of luck!Dallas R. Buchanan, MD, FACSOwner & Board-Certified Plastic SurgeonVIVIFY plastic surgery

Sagar Patel, MD · Answer

This is a great idea. I do this as a part of the Sagar Sculpting (c) procedure. We use a proprietary method to prep the fat as it can get infected since its coming from a dirty site IE the mouth. Give us a call and we can discuss!

Can buccal fat be used for fat transfer to lips or cheeks?

Answers (4)

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