Question: I’d love to get cheek implants but I have a hard to envisioning where the incisions would be made so that they’re not visible. Where are they made?

Answer: Incisions for cheek implants are classically made inside the mouth above the upper teeth.  You really only need about a 1-cm incision since the mucosa inside the mouth is rather stretchy and we can work through this very small incision to create a pocket to place the implant up over the cheekbone.  Dissolvable sutures are placed and most patients have a very minimal amount of downtime though they do have swelling that can last for weeks.

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Question: I’m a body builder and as I’ve gotten in better shape, my face has become more gaunt looking, particularly my cheeks. I’m not thin or skinny, I’m actually very fit and in excellent shape. Is there some sort of procedure that could add some bulk back to my cheeks, perhaps cheek augmentation? I’m a guy so I don’t want to look feminine.

Answer: I would have to evaluate your face to determine what your best options are, but one very simple option would be to place fillers into the areas where we desire more volume.  It is exceptionally easy, not horribly expensive, very well tolerated, and can be done in the spa setting.  Another option would be fat grafting, but that would require harvesting fat from other areas of your body and if you are extremely fit and have a very low body fat content that might not be very reasonable; otherwise, if you are needing volume in appropriate areas of the face, malar implants may be your best overall option.  These are highly customized depending on your particular facial features and shape, but when performed in experienced hands will definitely not feminize your face but will certainly volumetrically enhance your appearance.    

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Question: I’m a 26-year-old guy and I’d like to get a chin implant. I thought that growing a beard before surgery would help to disguise some of the side effects of surgery and since I think the before and after will be pretty dramatic it might also help ease the transition to make it less obvious that I’ve had surgery. Is it okay to grow a beard before surgery or would I need to shave beforehand?

Answer: I have had a lot of male patients who present with a beard who desire chin augmentation since their beard obviously makes their chin look larger and they like this effect.  I personally do not make them shave their beard for the chin augmentation procedure, but we do need to shave the hair underneath the chin where the natural skin crease sits, so if there is beard hair there, I will shave that small area but, otherwise, the whole front of the chin can be left with beard hair.  Once the surgery has been performed then the suture underneath the chin has been removed, oftentimes patients will go ahead and then shave their beards and allow their new augmented chin to be visible.  

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Question: I’m interested in getting injectable fillers in my cheeks. It seems like this is mostly done for aging reasons, but I’m 24 and just want more pronounced cheekbones without getting surgery. Would fillers be good for me?

Answer: Fillers are an excellent way to enhance the cheek area and there are multiple different filler agents that are good at this, but overall I tend to stick to the hyaluronic acid fillers due to their extreme safety and tolerance by the patient.  I have found that fillers are a nice way to enhance a young cheekbone and if the patient appreciates this then we can discuss the possibility of future malar or cheek implants as a more permanent way of enhancing this area.          

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Question: Would the edges of a cheek implant be visible to others on a person with a very thin face?

Answer: The edges of the implant, even in thin-skinned patients, should not be visible due to the fact that they are tapered along their edges and conform to the bone very nicely.

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