Buccal Lipectomy

Q: Dr. Eppley, a year ago I made a big mistake, I had a buccal fat removal operation (buccal lipectomy) and now I’m really sad about the results. My cheeks are too sunken and this makes me look older. I was reading an article you had written where you said that there two solutions for the buccal lipectomy defect. To add volume where my buccal fat was is it better a dermal-fat graft or fat injections? Will this leave scars on my face? 

A: To restore lost volume from an over aggressive buccal lipectomy you can either do fat injections into the buccal space or place an actual dermal-fat graft into the original buccal space. One harvests the fat by liposuction (injection) while the other by an excision. (dermal-fat graft) A dermal-fat graft creates more assured volume but does leave a scar somewhere in your body to harvest it. For this reason many patients may initially opt for the fat injections.  Either approach will leave no scars on the face as they are done from inside the mouth….just like your buccal lipectomy was done. In short, restoration of a buccal space defect must replace like with like…or fat lost with fat grafting.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana