Will I benefit from buccal fat removal? I always have had chubby cheeks even when I lost weight.

Great question!  Depending on your goals, a buccal lipectomy can help improve your facial shape by shrinking down the lower cheek region.  By doing this, the jawline and the cheeks become more defined and contoured.  Another treatment to think about is Botox to the posterior jawline as this will also help slim the face from a more squared to a more oval appearance on the frontal views.  However, it is always best to have an in person consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon so that your goals are reviewed and the best treatment recommended.
Best of luck and hope this information helps!
- Dr. Roger Tsai  @DrRogerTsai
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

You are a good candidate for buccal fat pat removal to improve your facial profile. The bichectomy or buccal fat pad removal is a minimal invasive procedure that usually takes place in a doctor’s office (doesn´t take longer than 20 minutes). Removing this fat pad strategically gives a sharper, chiseled and more symmetric appearance. Good candidates are patients that despite losing weight or are in their normal weigh, the volume in their cheeks area is still prominent. Combining this with chin lipo has a very powerful result. This will improve your jawline making it look more chiseled. The procedure is highly bearable with local anesthesia which is injected inside the mouth at the level of the second upper molar. At this site a small puncture incision is made and it’s carefully dissected so that no neighboring structures (nerves or vessels) are damaged until the pad is found. Once the pad is found it is pulled to the oral cavity to remove it under direct vision, thus not harming any other structures. The incision heals by itself and closes by the 4-5 day, and no sutures are needed. Factors that influence results are: amount of buccal fat pad removed (average amount is 3 cc, the size of a chestnut), healing process, wound retraction, overall tissue (amount of facial muscle and skin). The results start to show after the swelling begins to fade away, usually at 1-month post op and the end results at 3 months postop. Search for a certified plastic surgeon to do this procedure that may seem not difficult but carries risks for complications. The most common complication although rare is hematoma that is related to efforts in the immediate 3 days postop. Hematoma is a self-limiting complication that besides the size of the swelling it always resolves (takes 1 week to get better). Other complications are: infection, facial nerve damage and salivary gland duct or Stenon duct.

A buccal fat removal procedure can provide slimming in the lower face, in the lower anterior cheek region specifically. It can also help create more definition in the lower face depending on the overall bone and underlying tissue structure of the face. Based on your photo, it is possible that you are a suitable candidate for having a more chiseled lower face with this procedure. It is best to consult a board certified facial plastic surgeon in person and discuss your goals and options after a physical examination.Hope this helps,Ali Rıza Öreroğlu, MD FEBOPRASEuropean and Turkish Board Certified Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeonIstanbul, Turkey