How Risky is Jowl Liposuction?

Hello,
When done properly by a highly skilled surgeon, risks will be minimized when performing jowl liposuction. But there is still risk of nerve damagae with any liposuction of the face. And I would not recommend power assisted liposuction to the face. I would really need to see photos to give you the best advice. If you wish, you may send me any photos and I would be happy to give you my opinion on whether or not you would be a candidate for liposuction of the jowls. My contact info is listed in my profile. Thank you and best of luck.
Dr. Nassif

It’s important to exercise extreme
caution when performing liposuction of the jowl region.  In this area the marginal mandibular
nerve lies in a superficial location where it can be easily injured.  Injury of this nerve can have
significant consequences including distortion of the lips when patients smile.

Although injuries to the marginal
mandibular nerve are uncommon they do occasionally occur.  The vast majority of these injuries
result from the nerve being stretched and tend to resolve with time.  In rare cases injuries may be
permanent.

For this reason it’s important to
consult a board certified plastic surgeon who understands the anatomy in this
area.  Under these circumstances
the procedure can be performed safely.

I have never had an injury to the marginal mandibular nerve with jowl liposuction, but I am always cautious when liposuctioning in this area and am aware of where the typical position of the nerve is located when I operate.
I explain to all patients that undergo liposuction here the risks of injury, and the possibility of the serious change in the way the mouth looks if the nerve is injured. It is a very delicate, and sensitive nerve so there has to be significant amount of fat around the jowls to incur the risk. All of that being said if there is significant fat in the jowls, and the jaw line is otherwise tight then that area of the face needs to undergo careful liposuction to sharpen the jawline and give a more youthful appearance in addition to removing the fat in the submittal (chin) area. Generally speaking, the recovery from submental liposuction is the easiest area to recover from, and with careful, patient infiltration of the numbing fluid, (which also limits bleeding and therefore bruising), can easily be performed under a local anesthetic with very little pain, bleeding and postoperative bruising. The results can really be quick striking in changing the shape of the face and make the patient look younger because of the cleaner jaw line, but also makes the patient appear thinner as the heaviness and fullness of the jowls is removed and the overall face looks thinner.

  It is very rare to get nerve loss  from liposuction of the jowls, since the nerve is deep to the muscle and there is no fat in that area. The best treatment for jowls is not  liposuction, it is re-suspending the jowls back up into the buccal space where they descended down from with either a mini lift or a face lift. Liposuction of the jowls can leave irregularities and undulations in that area, so we  do not perform that procedure

I love this question because I think the risks of this procedure can be a little understated at times.

Essentially what you're surgeons have told your true. There is risk of nerve damage though it is slight. However, most providers now will use some laser assisted technology such as SLimLipo or Smartlipo. What is that mean? It means that the nerves and muscles of the jowl and corner of mouth are it slightly increased risk. So can you have some with weakness or nerve damage that could last weeks to months after this procedure? You absolutely can. I've seen it another patient's father offices and I've seen it in my own patients. I Mark the patient's anatomy and jowl preoperatively and deliberate effort to avoid those specific spots where nerves are crossing but also treat the jowl and other problem areas as effectively as I can. What I explained to the patient's is is that we can be more aggressive and treat more the face but with increased risk to a temporary impairment or damage to some of the nerves providing muscular movement of the mouth and lips. This usually is pretty slight and other people do not notice it but use the patient certainly do. If you're willing to take that risk and deal with a week corner of the mouth or lower lip for a number of weeks and possibly months they need generally can get a better improvement. It's always a trade-off. That being said I still treat patients with this technology as aggressively as I can within the boundaries of safety but if the patient and I have have that conversation about the risks and they want as much as they can without actually having a facelift then I would say 10% of the time patients have some temporary weakness of at least one side of the lower lip. I've never had any permanent issues but I like it that you've asked this question because again I feel like chin and jaw life of section is described as a procedure that is without risk and that is not true.

 

I hope that is helpful