Edmund Kwan, MD gets great satisfaction from offering peace of mind to patients who may be concerned about certain procedures, due to something they’ve read about online. We love it when patients say they’re no longer scared after their consultations. We love it even more when patients visit us after their procedures, and they’re carrying themselves a little higher now that they’re more comfortable “in their own skin.” You’ve come to the right place for safe, quality procedures such as cheek reduction surgery in Fort Lee NJ. When partnering with a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon like Dr. Edmund Kwan, the risks you may have seen online are minimized.
Surgical options, uniquely you
First, it’s important to differentiate between “cheek reduction” and “cheekbone reduction.” The difference is in the types of tissues that are being reduced. Reduction of just the cheeks is often referred to as “buccal fat removal surgery.” And, while chubby cheeks are associated with a youthful face, some of our patients want to shed that baby fat. Dr. Kwan can reduce the naturally occurring fat pad that doesn’t budge with diet or exercise. This size of this fatty area varies from person to person but occurs right in the hollow of your cheeks. Like all treatments, buccal fat pad removal isn’t for everyone. It may not be recommended for those patients with very thin or narrow faces. The mid-face is one of the first areas to lose volume. This volume loss can make us look older than we are, which is the reason so many of our patients request procedures that do the exact opposite of these treatments; they augment or enlarge the cheeks rather than reduce them. Non-surgical injectable products or dermal fillers like Juvéderm Voluma boost the apples of cheeks. Cheeks can fall or become flat due to fat loss, gravity, or other age-related changes.
Dr. Kwan is proud to have built a practice whose patients come from diverse backgrounds, and we appreciate that different standards of beauty across cultures, as well as anatomical differences, can also impact the type of correction our patients desire. Generally speaking, our many Asian patients tend to have more prominent cheekbones than our Caucasian patients when you view them laterally or side-to-side, but their profiles may appear flat. By reducing the cheekbone, the doctor can make your face look less angular and square-shaped and softer, or more heart- or oval-shaped.
Cheekbone reduction may also be combined with jawbone reduction if it’s appropriate for you as a patient. If the muscles and not the bone are to blame, minimizing the jawline may be as simple as administering Botox precisely to the overworked muscles responsible for a bulky lower face.
Soft tissue reduction
If buccal fat pad removal is in your future, generally surgery involves making an in intraoral incision so Dr. Kwan can get to the fatty pockets. Incisions made in the mouth, inside the cheek, are considered to be less invasive than other incisions that may be required for other facial surgeries. After the fat is extracted, Dr. Kwan closes the incision and you’ll be able to enjoy the full results from surgery in the coming months as swelling subsides and your cheeks gradually conform to their new, slimmer contours.
When bone is the issue
There are many options for cheekbone reduction at Edmund Kwan, MD. After underlying tissues are accessed through incisions, patients bone is reconfigured or reduced. Repositioned bone heals naturally without the need for plates and wires. Less invasive intraoral incisions may also be used to access and file down prominent or wide cheekbones.
As with all surgeries, there is some risk involved. And anytime you can manipulate the face, there is some concern over nerve damage since nerves run through hard and soft tissues. You can manage that risk by choosing a plastic surgeon who is accredited by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and who performs these surgeries from an accredited facility. Dr. Kwan is both board-certified and the ambulatory surgical facility is accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities. You can do your part to speed healthy healing and to enjoy lasting beautiful results by:
- Following specific pre- and post-surgery instructions as advised by Edmund Kwan, MD
- Taking great care to avoid bumping against incisions, or placing force on them in any way
- Allowing for proper time off work and away from strenuous activities, so as not to compromise healing
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially abstaining from tobacco use that can impair healing and hasten skin aging
For more information on surgical procedures at Edmund Kwan, MD, visit the FAQs tab and call (201) 947 3636 to schedule your consultation in Fort Lee NJ.
