Interested in buccal fat removal but worried about how it will age me in the future (22 years old)?

​Am a candidate for buccal fat removal for sculpting/slimming my lower face now and in my future? One of my parents has quite a round face (but not overweight) and my other parent does not seem to have an excess of buccal fat.

There is a believe that buccal fat removal to correct chubby cheeks will make the person to look old /aged in the future. This concern is correct if the patient has NOT GOOD cheek bones.
Cheek bones are important aspect of a youthful facial structure. Young patients with good prominent high cheek bones look always youthful and attractive. In stead young patient with poor cheek bones look a bit aged due to sagging of the skin. 
Therefore, it is the structure of the cheek bones the cause of the "aging look" after a buccal fat removal procedure. 
If buccal fat removal is performed in a patient with poor cheek bones, the face will look a bit older since the procedure wont deliver a chiseled look (since prominent cheek bones are sciential for a chiseled young look). 


In my practice I always evaluate the cheek bones in patients interested in buccal fat removal. If the patient has very poor cheek bones, I won't perform the buccal fat removal if the patient does't enhance their poor cheek bones at the same time (usually with fillers). Even patients in their 50s ("not young") look younger after buccal fat removal when their cheek bones are enhanced at the same time.
In conclusion, buccal fat removal won't make the face to look aged or older if the patient has good cheek bones. If the patient has poor cheek bones, he/she must enhance their cheek bones to avoid a post-surgical aged look. 



John Mesa, MD
Harvard Trained and Triple Fellowship Trained
Board Certified Colombian Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon
Buccal Fat Removal Specialist
New York City - New Jersey
ww.drmesa.com
NYC: (212) 203 7745
NJ: (973) 486-4862