Cheek Implant Replacements

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in cheek implant replacements. I had cheek implants placed two years ago. As a result, my cheeks are uneven and prominent in the wrong place. I want high cheekbones and also the uneveness of the current submalars makes one cheek look higher and more prominent and throws my jawline off making it look wider on one side. I want to correct this and obtain higher cheekbones instead of the cartoon character look. That’s why I want to swap them out for other cheek implants, either malars only or combo implants. Can you look at my pictures and give your recommendation?

A: Thank you for sending your pictures and questions about cheek implant replacements. It is very clear that the large submalar cheek implants is really not the right cheek implant style for you. It creates too much fullneess below the cheek bone which does not work well in your face. I would recommend the following:

1) Remove existing submalar cheek implants.

2) Your new cheek implant style would be any form of a combo or one that has no submalar component at all.

3) You need ‘high’ malar augmentation style implants that also go back further onto the zygomatic arch. No such standard malar cheek implants exists, even amongst the standard malar options. Ideally a custom cheek implant style is made that would fit your face precisely and create the augmentation exactly where it is needed. Because your current implants have created loose cheek tissues, the new cheek implants really need to help lift up this tissue.

4) If I was ‘forced’ to use a standard cheek implant I would use the malar shell style and modify it during surgery.

5) I would consider doing subtotal buccal lipectomies and perioral mound liposuction to contour in the area below the new higher malar augmentation to maximize the effect.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana