Am I A Good Candidate For A Buccal Lipectomy?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am a 19 year old considering a buccal lipectomy and wondering if I am a good candidate for it. I feel that there is some roundness to my cheeks that make the lower half of my face disproportionate to the upper half. I was wondering if the procedure would benefit me or if it wouldn’t make much of a difference. And if it does, whether I might not look too gaunt. I’ve seen a lot of regrets online but I wonder if it’s just a vocal minority. Thanks for the opportunity to gain some nice insight! Truly appreciated.

A: In looking at your your pictures and your young age, you would not be a good candidate for a buccal lipectomy procedure. While the initial result would meet your objectives, the long-term of it in your case would leave you looking gaunt and end up along with those that you have read that has regrets online. It is not that a buccal lipectomy is a bad procedure, as it can be very effective and successful in the right patient, but your face is not one of them. You do not have a ‘fat face’ or even a round face. Your level of fat lipodystrophy is very modest and the buccal lipectomy is too aggressive for your facial fat concerns.

In addition, where your facial fat concerns are is actually below of where the buccal fat pad actually is. It is situated just under the cheekbone and not down by the side of the mouth.

If you were to consider any facial thinning procedure, perioral mound liposuction is a better choice as it helps reduce the fat thickness at the lower end of the cheek and is a procedure that cannot really be overdone and has no long-term ‘gaunt face’ consequences.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana