Do Chin and Cheek Reductions Come with Any Dangers?

Eunmi,
Chin and cheek reductions are not as common here in the United States. More commonly, patients request chin and cheek augmentation. With any surgery of the face, we look at the soft tissue and the underlying bone. The lower part of your cheek can be reduced by removing the internal fat pad (buccal fat pad). The upper part of your cheek can be reduced by manipulating the bone. Similarly, your chin can be reduced by cutting the bone. Anytime you are doing surgery in the face, there is concern of nerve damage, since the nerves run through the bones and the soft tissue. However, with an experienced surgeon, your risks are minimized - not eliminated.
Insurance companies do not cover cosmetic cases. If you had a congenital (from birth) or trauma-related asymmetry, then it would be advisable to talk to your insurance company to clarify your benefits.
Your best bet would be to talk to a plastic surgeon who does the congenital and/or trauma-related maxillofacial surgery.

Yes, any surgery can lead to potential complications. Chin surgery can lead to numbness of the lip and chin which can be either temporary or permanent whereas cheek reduction surgery can lead to asymmetry and other complications. These are procedures that are performed all the time in my practice however we can not guarantee that these procedures are not without complications.

The cheek reduction is done by buccal fat pad removal. The neck and chin are typically sculpted with liposuction. Every surgery has risks but relatively this is a safe procedure. I am able to do it with local anesthesia which increases the safety significantly.Buccal Fat pad removal =  4,500 $Submental chin neck lipo = 2,500 $Combo is 6000 $ with our group.Hope this helps.Best of luck,DrC

Hello Ms. Yi,We do this all the time - but you are right that there are potential risks.  Both areas have nerves around them that we need to watch for.  I've not injured the nerves when doing cheek or jaw surgery but one must be careful!

Chin and cheek reduction is a very uncommon operation.  However, even though I don't perform this surgery routinely, I do know that there are risks.  Most of the risks are cosmetic, specifically how the soft tissue will respond to the decrease in bone volume.   Infection is possible but highly unlikely.  Since the surgery is done intraorally, there is no external incision.

Chin and cheek reductions both involve several risks which can include an infection of the surrounding bones, nerve damage, collapse of facial bones, muscular damage and anesthetic complication to name a few.  Chin reduction is more commonly requested and can be done through an intraoral approach quite successfully in cases where the bone is the most projecting element.  In cases where the soft tissue of the chin is excessive, a submental crease may be more advantageous to deal with the extra tissue of the chin pad.

Cheek reduction is not as commonly performed here and can be done through an intraoral approach as well.  Caution should be exerted near the surrounding nerves here.