Cheek Implants for Young Patients

If you have flat cheeks at age 18, it is unlikely that they will get fuller with age UNLESS you gain significant weight. Most of the time, we loose facial fat volume over the decades further accentuating flat cheeks. Cheek implants are a good option but I do think it is smart to wait and consider this for a while as you plan. These implants come in different shapes and sizes and you want to plan for implants that will continue to benefit you for decades after surgery.

Cheek implants in the young patient are need if the cheeks are not fully developed and therefore you need implants to correct the problem. Though there are surgeons who use fillers, this will not give you the result you want and will cost a great deal more.

If you have a thin face at 18, chances are it will continue to fill out a bit over the next ten years or so. That said, if you have deficient bone structure in your face then implants would be a good choice at your age. Go to a plastic surgeon or facial plastic surgeon that does both fat grafting and implants and they should be able to tell you what will be best for you.

Cheek implants can be performed on patients in their 20s.  It is important to make sure that there are realistic goals and expectations upon why the cheek implants are being performed to augment a flat cheek area.  The cheek implants are placed through an intraoral incision above the upper tooth roots and placed over the maxilla on the cheek area.  

To do photo imaging with your own photo, download our iPhone app free of charge.  Just enter "Seattle Plastic Surgery with Dr. Portuese" as search terms.  Once downloaded, you can simulate cheek augmentation by changing the shape of your cheeks. 

At your age I would prefer that you not do anything permanent as your wishes might change over time as will your face. Sculptra fills in a reasonable amount of volume, lasts longet than many of the other filler and is not forever.