It is funny how some surgical terms get traction on the internet and are propagated. The result is confusion as some people are led to believe that these terms represent well-established surgical procedures. This is not always the case.

Buccal fat removal is part of a facelift. It always has been. Some doctors however seeing the keywords “buccal fat removal” favorably represented on search engines have seemingly gone with the flow and written pages on it. That just reinforced the confusion.

Buccal fat is cheek fat. It can be more prominent in some people’s faces than others. Over time it tends to descend naturally to become a jowl as the ligaments of the face relax with aging. Some doctors have addressed this fat simply via liposuction which I believe can lead to inferior results in many people. Safe buccal fat removal is probably best accomplished during a facelift.

Suffice it to say if you are young with a puffy face, you might be better off leaving it alone. Being afflicted with the “round face” personally, keeping your weight down tends to help. If you are older, a facelift might become a reasonable alternative particularly as this fat starts to form a jowl.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD