Buccal Fat Reduction is a surgical approach — and a Hollywood cult classic — to accentuate the cheekbones and create a slimmer lower face for a beautiful, overall facial aesthetic — which can be performed awake with local anesthesia. Houston plastic surgeon Dr. Kristy Hamilton surgically removes a small portion of her patient’s buccal fat — a rounded pad of fat located in the lower cheeks (between the cheekbone and jawbone) that is responsible for creating a “baby-face” or “chipmunk cheeks”. Buccal Fat Reduction is one of the most highly requested facial cosmetic procedures to emerge recently due to the sculpted, more balanced and proportional facial appearance that results.
Dr. Hamilton — as an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon with expertise in facial analysis, anatomy, and advanced surgical skills — first does a meticulous, focused facial analysis with all potential candidates and asks them to look in a mirror and suck in their cheeks — which reveals a hollow area on both sides of the face where their buccal fat pads are located. Often, there is a genetic component involved with good candidates having parents and grandparents who still possess round faces as time goes by.
Dr. Hamilton performs Buccal Fat Reduction — instead of Buccal Fat Removal — as total removal can make the face look gaunt. She believes that reducing the buccal fat pads in the right candidate is a very powerful procedure. Sculpting the cheeks and changing the natural shape and contour of the face results in a leaner, more attractive, diamond-shaped face.
During the surgery, Dr. Hamilton creates two tiny incisions inside the mouth, one on the inside of each cheek, using local anesthesia so her patient is comfortable and awake. The sutures inside the mouth are concealed and dissolve within 1-2 weeks. The procedure transforms overly-full, round cheeks and heaviness in the lower face to elegantly create a slimmer face and sculpted cheeks with definition and harmony — optimizing facial balance and radiantly highlighting the natural, youthful contours of the face.