What is a cheek augmentation?
High cheekbones are seen as a sign of beauty. Just look at women like Angelina Jolie and Kate Moss. Because women tend to have fuller cheeks than men, they are seen as a sign of femininity. They radiate health and youth.
Some people don't have high cheekbones, others may have had high cheekbones in the past but they have become flatter over the years. Whatever the problem, we have a solution: a cheek augmentation via lipofilling of with implants. We enlarge your cheeks to make you look youthful and healthy again.
Medpor implants or lipofilling?
There are two ways to enlarge the cheeks: a fat transplantation / lipofilling (where the fat is taken from another part of your body, usually from the abdomen, thighs or hips) or implants (if you don't have enough fat).
1. Medpor implants
At o2 Clinic we use Medpor midface rim implants. Dr. Bart van Nimmen has performed a very large number of facial feminization surgeries on women, and he prefers these implants. Why? Because they appear to deliver the best long-term results. Because they are placed through an incision just below the eyelashes, a very symmetrical placement is possible. Because they are screwed in place, they stay in the right place, and there is hardly any risk of infection.
In older patients with very sagging lower eyelids, extra precautions must be taken to prevent the development of a sagging lower eyelid (ectropion). However, in the hands of an experienced surgeon, the results of this procedure are fantastic.
2. Fat transplantation or lipofilling
If you naturally have enough fat, you can opt for cheek augmentation through a fat transplant or lipofilling.
The advantages
- A natural result;
- No scar;
- Performed under local anesthesia.
Procedure
1. Cheek augmentation using Medpor implants
This surgery takes 30 minutes to an hour and is performed under general anesthesia. If you choose this procedure, you do not have to worry about scarring.
- Incision – The incision is made either inside your mouth, in the gums above your upper teeth (paranasal implants), or just below the eyelashes (cheek implants).
- The Medpor implants are shaped to your preference using a CBCT scan that must be performed a few weeks before the operation. They are fixed with small screws so that they remain firmly in place.
2. Cheek augmentation by means of fat transplantation or lipofilling
Lipofilling can be performed under either local or general anesthesia. Local anesthesia is only used when only small amounts of fat are required. If this procedure is combined with other procedures, it will usually be performed under general anesthesia. The donor site (where the fat will be taken from) is always injected with a mixture of local anesthesia and adrenaline to reduce the chance of postoperative discomfort and bruising.
Recovery
The incision in your mouth will be closed after the operation using dissolvable stitches - so that they disappear on their own. We recommend that you rinse your mouth with mouthwash two to three times a day. You will receive this mouthwash after the operation. It helps keep your mouth free of bacteria and heals the wound. The stitches will be completely dissolved after about two weeks.
You will also experience the usual side effects of surgery:
- Swelling (First Two Weeks) — Immediately after surgery, the injected area may be swollen and bruised. Initially, the correction may appear exaggerated due to overcorrection. To reduce swelling, we recommend sleeping on three pillows so that your face is higher than the rest of your body.
- After about three weeks, about 80% of the bruising and swelling will have disappeared.
- Temporary numbness of the area.
- Your cheeks may feel sore and stiff.
- After four months you will get a good impression of what the end result will be after six months.