Soft tissue
Buccal Fat Removal (as a trend)
Real procedure, real results in the right (full-cheeked) candidates — and a looming regret wave in lean young faces.
Also called: buccal fat · bichectomy · cheek fat removal
Verdict — mixed
Real in part — the claim outruns what it actually does.
Evidence grade C
Mechanistic plausibility, small studies, or observational data. Suggestive, not established.
Mechanism
Excision of the buccal fat pad permanently de-volumizes the mid-lower cheek, deepening the submalar hollow.
Citations
- Buccal fat pad excision: aesthetic indications and long-term considerationsAesthetic Surgery Journal · 2021
The full read
For genuinely round, full lower cheeks resistant to leanness, it can sharpen the face. The problem: buccal fat also atrophies naturally with age — removing it young in an already-lean face fast-forwards gauntness by your 40s. Surgeons increasingly counsel against it for lean patients. This is the canonical 'right procedure, wrong trend' entry: candidate selection is everything.
