Cheek Implant Specific Risks?

As with all surgery, there are several risks with cheek augmentation surgery.  The general risks of any surgery would be things like infection, swelling and bruising.  With cheek augmentation specifically, bruising is fairly unlikely, infection is possible but also unlikely and swelling is likely to happen but would be temporary.  In regards to nerve damage, the main risk is to a sensory nerve which supplies the sensation primarily to the lower cheek and upper lip.  There should be virtually no risk to damage any nerve that would cause paralysis.  Even the risk to damage the sensory nerve would be low, but it is a possibility.  

The types of surgeons most likely to perform cheek augmentation would be facial plastic surgeons, plastic surgeons, and some maxillofacial surgeons.  I would make sure that your doctor is board certified, and try and get recommendations from people you may know.  Good luck! 

Here are some of the specific cheek implant risks. Fortunately they do not occur in most patients:

Impaired Sensation to the cheek, temporarily or permanently
Implants can be dislodged or shifted, especially  early  after surgery.  
With  eyelid approach retraction of the lower eyelid is possible resulting in dry eyes
Infection which may require removal of the implant

Some of the risks include infection, bleeding, scarring, numbness, nerve weakness which can be permanent, implant extrusion and migration and asymmetry, The most common problems that I have seen is disparity between the two sides of the face. Even when using the same size implants invariably there will be some difference between the two sides of the face which often requires correction with a filler or fat injections. Other side effects that I have personally seen including the edges of the implant being visible especially in someone with a thin face and also having the implant be felt inside the mouth when chewing which can be bothersome to some patients. One thing that can be tried is sculptra injections if you want a slower increase in the fullness of the cheeks without the risks of an implant. Good luck.

Cheek implants are a very safe alternative to give a nice cheek augmentation.  They will not give a chiseled look, just an overall larger cheek area.  The chance of an infection after a cheek implant is rare and we do place patients on antibiotics.  The chance facial nerve paralysis due to cheek implants is rare and has never happened in our practice.  We have had a couple of patients who had a small area of permanent numbness over the cheek area due to local pressure on the sensory nerve itself.  We have also had a couple of patients develop a fluid pocket around the implant 6 months or a year after the procedure, which just needed to be drained.  The large majority of patients are extremely happy with their cheek implants and love them.

The most significant risks of cheek implants are asymmetry and lack of getting the desired result. The risk of permanent nerve damage is very low because the nerve is easily visualized and avoided, although most patients will have some mild temporary numbness.