Will A Buccal Lipectomy Help My Chubby Cheeks Look Less Full?

Q: I have a very square jaw with a lot of fullness towards the front which has always bothered me and made me self conscious.  I try to keep myself thin because any weight gain will make it even fuller.  I am currently 43 and it seems to be feeling fuller, where I always felt when I got older the baby fat would decrease.  My mother and father both had full faces with fairly square jaw lines as well.  I am hoping the buccal fat procedure and would help my profile and thin my face from the front and side…like when I bring in my cheeks by sucking them in…it seems to show the angles more rather than looking chubby.

A:  A square facial architecture is strongly influenced by the shape of the lower jaw and the cheek bones. To make a square face less full, the only area that can be changed is an inward movement of the submalar triangle facial zone. That is the area beneath the cheek bone done past the corner of the mouth in an inverted triangle shape. This is an area that is not supported by bone or muscle which is why you can suck it inward. Fat removal of this area is the only way to create some tapering in of this zone. The buccal fat pad occupies the upper region of the submalar triangle but not the area down by the mouth, known as the lower submalar triangle area. So a buccal lipectomy will help but needs another method of fat removal of the lower area also known as the perioral mounds. Microliposuction should be done from inside of the mouth to help this area in conjunction with the buccal lipectomies. The combination of both has the best chance to help achieve the look you are after.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana