“PLEASE be very careful and well researched when thinking about buccal fat pad removal”, Dr Romano always quotes.
- Although surgical removal is not invasive and can be done under local anesthesia, it is very hard to locate and identify and remove the correct amount.
- Most often patients confuse and overlap the buccal fat pad area with the jowl region which is lower down in the face. The distinction and your education about these two unrelated fatty accumulations in the face is very important.
- Be very aware and suspicious, but most of the before and after photos on the internet are patients that have had buccal fat pad removal AND liposuction of the face, so how do you evaluate results?
- The examination for buccal fat pad, where it is and how much, is very technical and involves examination inside the mouth, opening and closing, and more. Does your doctor know how to do this and evaluate you?
Dr Romano is expert at all the above and will teach you these and more. The buccal fat pad (pronounced “buckle”) is a quite obscure but important well delimited and localized fat pocket in the midface, below the cheekbone and above the jowl area. It is obscure because it is one of the two “deep” fat pockets of the face and so, not easy to identify or treat. It is a fat pocket that may be in excess by itself or in combination with the excess fat under the skin (“subcutaneous fat”) that is treated by liposuction. The more patients study their facial features, the more often very subtle features become very noticeable. A very round middle face, puffy cheeks, and loss of cheek bone contour are common reasons patients don’t like their look and seek this surgery. The anatomy of the middle face, often called the midface, is composed of its bony foundations (cheekbones and below), the surface fat, and the deep fat pocket—called the “buccal fat pad,” “Bichat’s fat pad,” or “fat pad of Bichat.” Dr. Romano addresses this area very carefully when evaluating each patient. A common misconception is that this area is the same as the fat seen below and along the jawline, called the “jowl fat.” This is different. Buccal fat may be related to the lower cheekbone contour above and the jawline and jowl below, so that there are many different anatomic features of each of these areas that must be addressed prior to your surgery.
To determine if you have excess buccal fat, purse your lips to whistle and you will notice a more chiseled, hollow look. It is also a procedure that is often sought to remedy a condition often referred to as “chipmunk cheeks.” It is also interesting to note that treatment of this condition is popular with many fashion runway models.
The procedure requires special expertise and artistic capability to accurately identify if you have this, how much, and how to treat it. Dr. Romano is expert at all of this and in creating your natural result. It does not create the “hollowed” or “wasted” look often talked about as related to this procedure. It all depends on how much fat you have and how much is removed.
The surgery is comfortable. It requires a very light anesthetic and takes one hour. The fat is removed from a tiny ½” incision in the mouth along the upper gum line. After surgery there is no bruising and no pain. You do not need to wear a bandage or garment. There is minimal swelling. You can return to work the same day. The result is noticeable right away, and just gets better in time.
Here is the link to the section Buccal Fat for you to visit on the website if you have not already.
