Buccal Fat Pad Removal
Dealing with chipmunk cheeks or looking like you never lost your facial baby fat is a fairly common worry. The ideal facial structure is to have prominent cheekbones with sharp definition, and for many people this develops with age. For others, however, they never really grow out of their full cheeks, leaving them looking childish and full-faced.
The buccal fat pad is a normally walnut sized fat mass that is situated beneath the cheeckbones and runs to the corner of the mouth. Its prominence creates the appearance of chipmunk cheeks. Dr. Shapiro offers buccal fat pad removal procedures where he can either partially or completely remove the fat pads.
The procedure is performed without any external incisions, so there will be no visible scars. The buccal fat pad removal is performed through extremely small and hidden incisions inside the mouth near the back molar teeth. The fat pads are removed, and absorbable sutures are used so there is no need to have the stitches removed. The operation can be performed with local anesthesia at the Scottsdale office or in the operating room under IV sedation. Recovery is typically fast, with swelling subsiding after a few days and no bruising.
