If you have a round face, you most likely don’t like posing in front of a camera because your face appears bigger through the lenses. Also, you have probably tried all sorts of makeup contouring techniques, yet none were too successful. There are popular plastic surgery solutions for chubby cheeks and the procedure for contouring your cheeks is not even that invasive.
Miami Plastic Surgeon Dr. Karan Chopra can help reshape and slim your face by performing buccal fat pad reduction
Buccal Fat Reduction for Chubby Cheeks
Also called buccal fat removal, the buccal fat reduction surgery eliminates the fat that’s between your jaw bones and cheeks. After the procedure, your face becomes more contoured, so you no longer have fat cheeks.
The procedure involves surgically removing your cheeks’ buccal fat for the face to become slimmer and the facial angles to be redefined.
Your surgeon could accompany your buccal fat reduction surgery with a facelift, chin implants, lip augmentation, Botox injections, or rhinoplasty.
Are You a Good Candidate for the Buccal Fat Reduction Surgery?
If you are unhappy with how your cheeks make your face look, you can talk to a plastic surgeon to help. The conditions are that you’re not a smoker, your weight is within normal ranges, you have a round face, and you’re healthy enough to undergo surgery.
The procedure involves getting local anesthesia first. The anesthesia doesn’t cause discomfort, and the procedure will continue while you are awake. However, suppose your surgeon needs to perform more than this procedure. In that case, you might need general anesthesia, so ask someone to come and pick you up after the surgery.
After the anesthesia is administered, the surgeon will make incisions inside your cheeks and put some pressure from the outside to expose more of the buccal fat pad. The following step is cutting the fat and removing it. In the end, the surgeon will close the wound.
What Should You Expect After the Buccal Fat Reduction Surgery?
Although it’s simple, buccal fat reduction can still cause bruising and swelling. Expect to feel a slight discomfort in the operated area too. In addition, your cheeks can be puffier and look swollen for about 3 days after the procedure.
However, most of the swelling, discomfort, and bruising will go after seven days. Note you will be able to notice the changes only ten days after the procedure, as the area needs to heal properly.
The final results of your procedure are usually fully visible about three months after the surgery.
Does the Buccal Fat Reduction Surgery Have Any Side Effects?
Before you decide to undergo a buccal fat reduction surgery, your surgeon will discuss the risks and possible side effects of this procedure.
Some of the possible side effects of buccal fat reduction surgery include
- Infection at the incision site
- Damage to the salivary ducts or facial nerves
- Numbness or altered sensation
- Asymmetry
However, you might only experience these side effects if complications occur during surgery.
Does the Effect of Buccal Fat Reduction Last Long?
Buccal fat reduction surgery produces long-lasting results. However, your cheeks might become plump if you gain weight after the procedure.
Is It Expensive to Get Buccal Fat Reduction Surgery?
The costs for buccal fat pad reduction surgery can vary according to how experienced your surgeon is, the surgical facility where you get the procedure, the surgeon’s fee, and the price for the anesthesia.
You should also know you need to buy medication after the surgery, so consider these costs too. Don’t compromise the procedure’s success for lower costs. Choose the surgeon with the most experience and a good reputation to get the best results possible.
Are There Any Non-Surgical Options to Get Rid of Chubby Cheeks?
If surgery doesn’t appeal to you, you can always opt for fillers and Botox to make your face appear slimmer and get rid of those chubby cheeks that don’t allow you to smile properly.
Dermal fillers are not used only for smoothing fine lines and wrinkles. Many surgeons recommend them for changing facial shapes as well. For example, reducing the fat in your cheeks with dermal fillers is less invasive. However, it involves injections that shape your face and give the impression that you have a more pronounced cheekbone.
What Does the Filler Procedure Involve and How Long Results Last?
The filler procedure only takes 15 to 30 minutes. In addition, the discomfort it causes is minimum because the surgeon uses fine needles to reshape your cheeks. After injecting the fillers, the surgeon will put an ice pack on the treated area.
You will notice results immediately after the procedure. If you have decided that you want your surgeon to inject Botox to reshape your cheeks, expect 10 to 14 days to pass until you see results.
You won’t need extra time for recovery; the effect could last for up to two years, depending on the substance used.
Some minor side effects of fillers and Botox include redness, mild discomfort, or swelling.
Like buccal fat reduction and cheek liposuction, you need to contact a certified plastic surgeon to have fillers or Botox injected in or around your cheeks.
Can You Reduce Chubby Cheeks without Surgery?
While surgery options remain the most effective ways to get you a slimmer face, you can also change your lifestyle to get rid of fat cheeks:
1. Exercise
In general, weight loss has a slimming effect on the whole body, including the face. In addition, aerobic exercise, sometimes called cardio exercise, can lead to weight loss.
You can do cardio at low, moderate, or high intensity. According to research, performing higher-intensity aerobic exercises several times a week promotes burning more fat. Overall, weight loss might slim down the face.
2. Facial exercises
There is some evidence that exercising your facial muscles can help you lose facial fat.
Facial muscles can become toned and strengthened by exercising facial muscles. However, whether these activities also help you lose facial fat is unclear.
No studies examine the relationship between facial exercise and reduced facial fat. But facial exercises could make a face appear firmer if someone loses weight.
3. Reduce your alcohol consumption
Dehydration from excessive alcohol consumption can cause the body to retain water. This can sometimes lead to water retention on the face, which can make a face appear bloated and puffy.
Moreover, alcohol consumption can also lead to weight gain. This is because it contains empty calories that have no nutritional value. Excessive consumption of empty calories increases your daily calorie consumption. Therefore, it promotes weight gain, which can also lead to chubby cheeks.
4. Sleep well
When for some reason or the other, you can’t sleep well at night, you gain weight more rapidly because your metabolism slows down.
5. Reduce the amount of Sodium in your diet
Try as much as possible to avoid foods containing Sodium. Don’t put that much salt in your meals because Sodium might cause your face to become puffy.
The foods that contain a high amount of Sodium are usually highly processed foods like frozen pizza, sausages, bacon, and ham.
6. Give up refined carbs as much as you can
Just like alcohol, foods that contain refined carbs are only empty calories making you fat and, thus, causing your cheeks to become chubby.
Can You Reduce Chubby Cheeks without Surgery?
While having chubby cheeks is relatively fine when young, the matter becomes a problem with age. Aging causes chubby cheeks to become saggy, and this type of appearance is not at all desirable for many people.
There’s nothing wrong with having some fat on the cheeks. On the contrary, this look is attractive if the face is not disproportionate and the expressiveness of the eyes is still beautifully revealed.
Some celebrities like Renee Zellweger, Kim Kardashian, and Selena Gomez used to have chubby cheeks. However, since their body seems to look the same, especially in Kim Kardashian’s case, they likely have opted for one of the fat pad reduction procedures mentioned above.
Skinny people can have chubby cheeks, too, as some individuals might tend to put on fat on their face first.
Last, don’t mistake a puffy face for having chubby cheeks. How your face looks the first thing you wake up in the morning doesn’t reveal your actual face shape. For example, you might have had a tiring day before going to bed, and thus, you woke up with a puffy face. And this can happen more than once.
FAQ about Chubby Cheeks and
Buccal Fat Pad Removal Surgery
Who’s a good candidate for surgery for chubby cheeks?
Because aging naturally makes a face appear thinner, people with thin, narrow faces are not the best candidates for cheek fat removal. The best candidates for buccal fat reduction are non-smokers concerned about the appearance of their chubby cheeks. For one of the abovementioned procedures, you must be physically healthy and have reasonable expectations. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Chopra right now if you are interested in slimming down your face!
What’s in the fillers for the cheeks?
Hyaluronic acid, a component of dermal fillers, provides a defined volume beneath the skin’s surface. Facial rejuvenation with fillers doesn’t remove fat or volume from the face. This is what liposuction does.
Can only women have surgery for fat cheeks?
Men can contact a plastic surgeon to fix their chubby cheeks if they want to. Both surgical options mentioned above are available for both men and women.
Further Reading about Facial Plastic
Surgery Procedures
Facelift surgery page
Facial fat grafting
liquid facelift page
Ready to Discuss Next Steps? Book Your Free Consultation!
Are you ready to take the journey towards a more youthful, refreshed look? I invite you to reach out to me and my team. Let’s discuss your goals and how facial fat grafting can help you achieve them. Remember, the first step is just a conversation. Let’s start that conversation today.
Or you’re welcome to call us at +1 (305) 209-881
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