Cheekbone Reduction Reversal

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in cheekbone reduction reversal. I am a 21 year old Asian girl who thoughtlessly underwent cheekbone reduction surgery and jawbone reduction surgery in Korea. After six months of healing, I’m finding that my cheeks are sagging and it is making me look a lot older than I am. 

I’m not sure what to do. I’m depressed and regretful of my decisions. The cheekbone reduction was conducted via L osteotomy, with an oral and sideburn incisions. I’m hesitant about cheek implants as I’m not very keen on putting foreign objects in my body. Even though I am young, I am desperate. Would a cheeklift/soft tissue cheeklift be beneficial in my case.

A: Thank you for your inquiry. Your cheekbone reduction reversal options are limited. You have to re-establish bone support to lift the soft tissues back up, a cheeklift is not going to work. You either reverse the osteotomies or place some form of a cheek implant. But either way you have to build the bone back out somehow, you can not lift the tissues around it successfully in a young person. Implants are easier but revise osteotomies are more ‘natural’.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana