Cheek Implants - Know Options For It!

Ageing is always traumatic. One gets weaker, develops wrinkles, and falls prey to degenerative changes and diseases… But cosmetic science has one or two useful tricks up its arm to make one's face look young and full, even when age is playing catch up- like cheek implants.

These are also ideal for thin-faced people looking to acquire a rounded facial profile.

Other Cosmetic Options For a Fuller Face:

We all know that there is a loss of fat, especially from the cheek area due to ageing. This leads to a flattening and hollowing out of this part with wrinkle folds also becoming very prominent.

Fat grafting where fat from the same patient is grafted under the skin in cheek area to give one a fuller looking face, injectable fillers and facelift, a surgery in which excess skin is cut off, tightening the face and rejuvenating it, are some of the options available.

However, fat grafting can distort facial features, fillers are temporary and face lift is a big surgery. Hence synthetic cheek implants using silicone are becoming very popular these days.

More About Cheek Implants:

Cheek implants vary widely not only in shape and style but also in the material with which they are made. Solid implants made of silicone and polyethene, like the ones which were used in breast augmentation, are quite popular today.

Cheek implant surgery usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes. A cut is made either inside the upper lip or through the lower eyelid. A pocket is formed here and the implant is inserted. This is held by muscles, stitches or natural screws.

The inside of the mouth is then stitched up.

The incidence of things going wrong are less but the downside of this procedure is that one may have to get cheek implants again and again based on one’s rate of ageing. Silicone is also not a completely safe material. One may also develop infections which require implant removal. Implant migration can also happen and will require a removal. Bone resorption (bone loss) has also been reported below solid facial implants.

Some cosmetic surgeons also opine that fat grafting gives a more natural-looking fullness to the cheek area than synthetic implants.

We advise that one tries out non-surgical options like injectible fillers first before going for cheek implants and consult a reputable surgeon.

Another thing to keep in mind is that one may have to go for cosmetic removal of under-eye hollows, jowls and nasolabial folds around the nose, along with silicone cheek implants. These 3 areas become more pronounced with age and it’s very important to focus on them first before getting implants. If this is not done, the face can take on a very artificial look.