Revision Buccal Pad Removal, Is This A Normal Procedure?

Your surgeon needs to know that prior buccal fat was performed only 2.5mo prior. Buccal fat reoperation can be a hazardous task with your facial nerves at risk. 

At 2.5mo after cheek and jawline surgery, your face is still puffy. It takes closer to 9mo for the swelling to go out. You may have some buccal fat prolapse due to the jawline surgery which needs to be addressed, but withholding information from your surgeon is ultimately  putting yourself at risk for a disaster.

Yes, an experienced buccal fat removal surgeon can control how much buccal fat pad is removed during the procedure. In my practice I do that all the time since not every body wants the same result after the procedure.  When somebody wants a conservative approach, I remove less than 50%. Commonly I removed 70% in most patient. Only in few patient candidates that want a super model hollowed look AND have excellent cheek bones, then I remove all the buccal fat padsBuccal fat removal revisions are possible. However they are more difficult due to the scarring from the previous surgery. This increases the risks of complications around the re-operation. John Mesa, MDBuccal Fat Removal Specialist Plastic Surgeon

Hello 6729,

 

Thank you for sharing your story and we sympathize with you. Unfortunately, some complications and disappointments could happen after delicate surgeries as yours.

 

In general, 2.5 months is a relatively short period to establish an acceptable recovery before you can consider having a revision procedure. Without pictures and physical examination it is hard to assess how far of a recovery you have achieved.

 

I encourage you to share your experience with your surgeon in full because the last thing you want to do is to mask important facts from your surgeon.

 

Also, it is highly recommended that the patient invests enough time to become ready and then to recover from the surgery. Rushing the steps will jeopardize the commendable outcome of any surgery regardless of its magnitude.

 

Best of Luck to you.

Dr. Sajjadian

Sorry to hear about your experience, but unfortunately you are not alone.  The first thing is to make sure you find a board certified specialist in the face who can help you.  After you have identified this person, it is important to give him/her full disclosure as to what surgery you have already had done.  In buccal fat removal, the amount of fat can removed can be somewhat controlled by the surgeon to ensure equal amounts are being removed.  I too am concerned that you are planning to do this only 2 weeks prior to an important event.  I would recommend that you perform this well in advance of your event to allow the maximum time for recovery.

When Buccal Fat Removal is performed by an experienced surgeon, the amount of excised fat can be satisfactorily controlled. This means that equal amounts of fat can be removed from each cheek, and the surgeon can limit the quantity of fat to an amount he believes suitable for the patient's wishes.

I'm concerned, however, about your expectations. You stated:

"I have a big event in a month, and a local doctor (to which I did not tell the Korea story) just looking at me the first thing he suggested is the buccal fat removal. I have scheduled the procedure 2 weeks b4 my event"

The amount of recovery time you're anticipating prior to your "event" is very short, in my opinion. At best, your cheeks will be sufficiently healed that you'll not have any discomfort or obvious signs of surgery. At worst, you may have both discomfort as well as excess swelling, discoloration and imbalanced appearance (if healing is unusually delayed since this is your second procedure).

More importantly, you should really inform your doctor of your prior surgery. This is important information, because your current puffiness may have little to do with excess buccal fat. At just 2 1/2 months after your jaw surgery, your puffy cheeks may very well be nothing more than swelling from your first procedure.

I would be much more comfortable if you had not only fully informed your new doctor but if you had also allowed 6 or more weeks for secondary surgical recovery. Proceeding, as scheduled, with your present plan may be a bad idea!