What Can Be Done For Cheek Asymmetry After Cheek Implant Surgery?

Q: Dr.Eppley, will you look at patients that had cheek implants performed by another surgeon? The surgery was performed a month ago and they are asymmetrical and one side is more swollen then the other. They don’t look right. I would like them revised or removed.

A: Thank you for your inquiry. The first thing to realize about cheek implants is that the swelling between the two sides is never exactly symmetrical. Even though you do exactly the same thing to both sides, they will have differential amounts of swelling. Secondly, it really takes almost three months to see the final results from the procedure. It takes this long to have almost all of the swelling gone and to see if true cheek implant asymmetry exists. Since you are only one month from surgery (which does seem like forever when you are the patient), it is too early in my opinion to yet assume that the cheek implant placements have been asymmetrical. That being said, I would be happy to assist you. Please send me some pictures and any information about your surgery (when, type of implants if you know etc) that you know. Let us assume that after three months, this cheek asymmetry persists. Since there is asymmetry, I am assuming that there is one good side and one unhappy asymmetric side. That raises the question about whether the off side should be adjusted to better symmetry, changing the styles and position of the implants on the cheeks (there was a good reason you have it done to begin with) or simply having them removed altogether. At that point, we can delve into what your original objectives were for getting the cheek implants and see if that effort can be salvaged.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana