Am I A Good Candidate For Buccal Lipectomies and Perioral Liposuction?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I hope this message finds you well. I was wondering if I would be a good candidate for buccal fat lipectomy and/or perioral liposuction as I want a slimmer face between my cheeks and jawline with the goal of a more angular-looking masculine facial shape. And if so, I would like to know what the price would be for these procedures.

For reference, I’m a 21-year-old male who’s 6’2 and has fluctuated between 180-190 over the last 1 1/2 years. Despite the rest of my body being pretty skinny, my face appears very bloated to me and very round. I do think my cheekbones are big and rounder than most people due my dad’s side having big and round cheekbones. However, I still think my face carries too much fat and it just doesn’t fit the rest of my body being pretty skinny. I drink plenty of water as well every day and do about 30 minutes of cardio exercise everyday.

The last time I felt that my face didn’t feel very bloated was when I was hovering around 170 lbs around 2 1/2 years ago but I don’t want to be at that weight because it just seems too skinny for the rest of my body. I would ideally like to be around my current weight or even around 200 if I decide to get into weightlifting in the future.

I also noticed that the right side of my face is wider than the left side of my face and so I wasn’t sure if correcting that asymmetry would also help my face in looking more slimmer. My dental arch on the right side of my face also isn’t as wide as my left side as you can see in the photo where I’m smiling, so I wasn’t sure if invisalign would help with this asymmetry by narrowing the right side of my face as I’ve read about people’s faces narrowing after invisalign expansion of the dental arch. I’m not sure if this claim is true or would be applicable in my case.

I was also wondering if you know if there are any risks invisalign could have on my face if I decide to get that in the future to correct my smile if I do end up getting a potential buccal fat lipectomy and perioral liposuction in terms of the risk of my face look too gaunt or narrow.

Thank you for the help!

A: In answer to your questions:

1) You would be a good candidate for facial defatting via buccal lipectomies and perioral liposuction. However be aware that one can never defat their face into a more angular shape…that degree of change is not completely realistic from a soft tissue reduction alone.

2) Facial asymmetry correction will not make the face any slimmer, just more symmetrical.

3) I see no adverse risks of undergoing Invisalign on your external facial shape.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon