What is Buccal Fat Pad Removal?

Buccal fat pad removal is an excellent way of reducing the "chipmunk cheek" appearance that plagues patients. Often, their parents have the same facial configuration even in their 60's and 70's!
Buccal fat pad removal must be weighed against the possibility of hollowness later on, of course. It must also be weighed with consideration of facial harmony as a whole (i.e. the cheekbone to cheek juxtaposition). The patient's age makes a big difference as well. The procedure should not be performed in patients with "baby fat" in their early 20's. only patients with legitimate facial disharmony.
However, if patients have excessively full cheeks in their 30's, and their entire family has the characteristic "chipmunk look", how long do you want to wait for the patient to "burn through" their buccal fat pad and look good? Until they are 85?
A board cerfitied plastic surgeon with a serious interest in cheek anatomy and surgery, who possesses an artistic eye, is your best bet to answer this question.

Buccal fat removal is the plastic surgery procedure that removes the "chubby look" of the face permanently. The "chubby look" is caused by enlarged buccal fat pads. Therefore, by removing these pads from the face, the face becomes less chubby, more chiseled and model-like after the procedure. 

Buccal fat pad removal is a way to remove a fat pad around the cheeks through an incision inside the mouth.  It can be done under light sedation or straight local anesthesia.   Fat in this area can give the appearance of youth, but can also give a convex contour that is unwanted.  This area needs to be evaluated carefully and the fat pad removal should be done conservatively to avoid the hollow look in the future. Good luck!

When a patient has a full and round face and despite weight loss the fullness persist or if the patient is in his normal weight and the chipmunk faces has stayed all the time, a bichectomy or buccal fat pad removla is useful. Its true that with aging the buccal fat pad tends to diminish in volume do to atrophy, but if the volume is excessive a bichectomy will not hollow the cheek overtime. Many patients are happy with the results, a proper selection is a very important manner. Usually the procedure takes less than 30 min and you can go homethe same day. You'll be able to go back to work on the 3rd day post-op but 1 week off would be more comfortable. Best regards!

The buccal fat pads are located in the lower portion of both cheeks, and in some patients large buccal fat pads can create chubby "chipmunk" cheeks. Removal of these fat pads or reduction in their size is typically performed through an incision on the inner surface of the cheek. This procedure is not appropriate for everyone, and patients should be very carefully selected. As we age, we lose some of the fat in our face naturally, which is part of what makes a face look older. In the incorrectly selected patient, removing any portion of the buccal fat pad may lead to a gaunt, aged appearance, if not initially then later down the road when the aging process causes atrophy of the remaining facial fat pads. There are other procedures which can provide the slimming effect that you are interested in without removing any fat, such as augmentation of the upper cheeks with fillers or implants, or Botox injection to the masseter muscles that lie over the jaw. I recommend scheduling a consultation with a facial plastic surgery expert who can evaluate your concerns in person in order to determine which procedure or procedures would be most likely to give you the results you desire.
Best wishes,

Hi,
The face has many fat compartments, the buccal fat is one of these compartments. If you clench your teeth, the area just in front of the contracting muscle houses the buccal fat. The fat compartments of the face tend to deflate as you age, so removing buccal fat has to be done conservatively to avoid a hollow or gaunt appearance. Removing the fat can be done through the mouth under local anesthesia with minimal downtime. It is important to seek a consultation with a facial plastic surgeon to determine if you care a good candidate.
Good luck,
Mehdi Sina, MD

Hello,Some patients have persistent ‘chubby cheeks’ from childhood and the more chiseled face can enhance one’s beauty. The buccal (meaning ‘cheek’) fat pad is a pocket of fat that resides in the lower cheek and gives a full, rounded appearance to the lower face. Removal of the buccal fat creates a chiseled the lower facial contour and a voluminous cheek contour. Enhancing the cheek contour can accentuate the illusion of a more chiseled lower face. There is no non-surgical option to reduce the buccal fat pad.Best,Dr. Rad

Buccal fat is a fat pad in the face. We have many different conglomerate of fat globues in the face. This pad goes from the buccal area all the way to the temples. It is the buccal (cheek) area that we actually remove.  We do this through an incision in the mouth. I ttakes about an hour. You are awake. There is some post op swelling for a week that is noticable. The true results take a few months to take as the scar tissue sets in.Often times fat transfer in conjunction with this procedure is able to give a more “ideal” heart shaped face. This can make a big difference in patients as a combo. It may seem counter intuitive to add fat when you say your problem is fat cheeks. What we do is add fat around the cheeks to the side of the highest and most projected point of the cheek bone and taper it to the lower face. This helps to camouflage overly chubby cheeks.  This is especially helpful in thin women and in combination with buccal fat pad removal is a powerful maneuver. All of this can be done in clinic with some calming medications and local anesthesia.

I recommend getting a consult with a surgeon who does this procedure frequently to get a full facial analysis to make sure your specific goals are addressed.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck.

DrC

Thanks for your question. I find buccal fat pad reduction to be a great procedure in the properly selected patient. Fullness in the lower cheeks or "chipmunk cheeks" can be treated this way. Liposuction or skin tightening technologies will not be the right choice when buccal fullness is apparent. The buccal fat pad sits deeper in the lower cheek area under muscle. This is different from skin fat that can be liposuctioned. Proper diagnosis is important to understand how to treat. Also, this fat pad may get smaller when we are elderly possibly giving a hollow look in this area.  Performed properly in the right patient buccal fat reduction is easily performed and gives a slimmer lower face that is difficult to achiever otherwise. I have many happy patients with this procedure. Careful selection and counseling are key. Results evolve nicely over a period of weeks to months. Please talk to an board certified surgeon experienced in buccal fat reduction to see if you are a candidate.

There is a very distinct pocket of fat in the cheeks near the molars that can be removed through the inside of the mouyh. Once removed, the lower cheek appears more chiseled. Care must be taken not to remove too much. And for tooth grinders, botox in the masseters would decrease volume in the lower face. Must make sure that is not the problem first.

Buccal fat pad removal is where a surgeon, typically from an inside the mouth approach, removes a specific encapsulated area of fat located in the cheek.  The goal is to contour the face and avoid bottom heaviness and emphasize cheekbones.


Patients must be selected properly for buccal fat pad removal, as chosing an inappropriate candidate can lead to a premature gaunt look in the face.




Critera to see if candidate for buccal fat pad removal:




1.  Family history of "full" faces-  Families with full faces who age with full faces are likely to benefit from buccal fat removal.  Families whose fuller faces eventually turn gaunt should avoid this procedure
2.  Buccal fat excess-  There are multiple fat pads in the face.  The key is to determine if buccal fat pad removal is beneficial





The technical challenges of buccal fat pad removal are to be non disruptive to the surrounding structures.  I prefer to remove the buccal fat pad in the office under local anesthesia with a minimal intraoral incision for the following reasons:




1.  Patients can see the buccal fat removed- Patients like to see the buccal fat removed as it is reassuring that the fat has actually been removed




2.  Quicker recovery than general anesthesia




3.  Local anesthesia is less cost prohibitive as well




4.  Able to tolerate foods earlier with less intraoral swelling