Should I use cheek implants or fat grafting?

Yes, fat transfer can improve the cheeks. Fat transfer technique is what is important for successful fat transfer. I recommend water-assisted fat harvesting which gives pure fat to transfer and combine with platelet rich plasma (PRP) to get the most viable and sustainable fat cells. I then combine with Sculptra, depending on area, to improve final results. recommend getting a formal evaluation with an expert. Best, Dr. Emer
 

Hello,

You are a great candidate for fat transfer. If you have an opportunity to avoid a foreign body, that's always the safest. It can be done in less than an hour in the office under local anesthesia only. There is minimal pain and minimal swelling. The fat that lives will stay forever. 
Mark G. Albert, M.D.
NYC Aesthetic Surgeon

If you are interested in cheek augmentation, it might be better to have a try with fillers first. As fillers are temporary, and usually less expensive depending on the case, if you do not like the outcome, it will be temporary and easier to fix. Fat injections are more permanent, but they are not as invasive as implants. They can also provide a more natural look. Implants are permanent and the most invasive of these three options with more risks of complications. They can give good results, however, it's better to be sure of what you want, in case you want them removed later on.

Hope this helps,Ali Rıza Öreroğlu, MD FEBOPRASEuropean and Turkish Board Certified Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeonIstanbul, Turkey

Dear katherine,I think you should just try fillers to make sure you like itAdding volume to that part of the cheek requires great precision and expertise because if it is done incorrectly, you can have weird swellings when you smileCheek implants may look good at first, but as you age, the face changes shape (the implants do not), and then you can have an abnormal facial expressionPlease see a facial specialist in your area who can go over the optionsBest,
Dr. Nima
Member, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
Board Certified in Head and Neck Surgery

If you are interested in augmenting the volume of your cheeks I would strongly recommend you start with fillers.  Fillers are quick, easy, reversible and adjustable. As we age we lose fat, muscle and bone from our face so the shape and volume of our face changes over time. Fillers can be adjusted to these changes over time to give you the desired outcome at any age. Cheek implants are much less popular now that we have fillers. Although cheek implants are permanent they cannot be adjusted to your changing face over many years and will often look too large later in your life. Fat augmentation is great for someone who is very volume deficient in the whole face but is a surgical procedure with some downtime and is more expensive. Certainly at your age it makes sense to start with fillers.

Thank you for your question. Fat grafting is a good technique for adding volume to the face and if done by an experienced surgeon, gives excellent and naturual looking results. It would be best to see a cosmetic surgeon and discuss the options.

I don't know, you look OK to me. Fat has the unfortunate attribute of gaining weight when you do, so if you get pregnant or otherwise put on weight the fat placed in the cheek can grow and is hard to get out..........it's hard to predict what will happen to your body in 20-30 years. I wrote an editorial on the subject for the big plastic surgery Journal...its on my website