Cosmetic surgery plans to ban chubby cheeks

Last year, Chrissy Teigen caused quite a stir when she admitted in an Instagram story that she had undergone a bichectomy, cosmetic surgery to remove fat from the cheeks. In the video, the model declared herself thrilled with the result and anticipated a trend that seems to be particularly popular among celebrities and others. The latest who is said to have sculpted her face by removing buccal fat, i.e. fat naturally located in the cheeks, is Lea Michele. The Glee actress posted a selfie in which her features look much more hollowed out and her jawline more defined than in past photos. Probably, like many of us, Teigen and Michele decided to change their appearance influenced by social and media pressure. Years of tutorials on contouring to create a facelift effect and by legions of models deemed aspirational (Bella Hadid foremost among them) have instilled in our heads the idea that to be beautiful you have to have high, prominent cheekbones, and eliminating part of the cheeks seems to many a fairly easy way to quickly achieve the goal. Moreover, the fact that it is an outpatient procedure that in most cases does not involve a hospital stay has further increased demand for it.

We are used to seeing photos of celebrities comparing before and after plastic surgery operations, but we are almost always unaware of what they consist of and which part they affect. In the case of bichectomy, the area removed is the buccal fat pad, a mass of fat that lies between the cheekbones and the jawline and contributes to the shape of the face. Everyone has it, but the size varies from person to person. The more buccal fat there is, the rounder the face is. Removing it highlights the bony structure of the face, the cheekbones and, of course, the hollowed-out areas between the cheeks and the jawline, giving a look that is now considered more "high fashion". The procedure itself is simple and, as Dr. Michael Horn explains, can be performed in a licensed surgery or in a doctor's operating room, under intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. The surgeon makes an incision inside the cheek to remove part of the buccal fat or performs the procedure in combination with a facelift. The procedure, which costs between $2,000 and $5,000, takes about 30 minutes and postoperative recovery involves a special mouthwash to prevent infection and a liquid diet for a week. The swelling disappears in about two weeks with no visible scars (the sutures used for the operation are usually resorbable).

Ideal candidates are young patients, aged between 20 and 40, non-smokers and in good physical health, with very full and chubby cheeks who want a more balanced facial appearance. In recent years, thanks to the emergence of a conception of beauty linked to the image of a sharp face, the procedure has become one of the most popular, and not only among those with very round cheeks. More and more people want a defined hollowing of the cheeks, similar to the look they get when parting their lips, blowing a whistle or after elaborate contouring. Doctors, however, advise people to think carefully before resorting to surgery, weighing up the pros and cons. Potential (though relatively rare) complications include accidental injury to the salivary gland or facial nerves, but the most common risk is related to advancing age. The biggest problem with buccal fat removal is that as we age, we naturally lose some facial firmness, which means that people who have undergone the procedure will become even more hollowed out, with a thinner and potentially older appearance when they are older or older. Thus, since the bichectomy is irreversible, the only way to plump up the cheek area would be to resort to further surgery, which this time, instead of taking away, should add volume.

Ideal candidates are young patients, aged between 20 and 40, non-smokers and in good physical health, with very full and chubby cheeks who want a more balanced facial appearance. In recent years, thanks to the emergence of a conception of beauty linked to the image of a sharp face, the procedure has become one of the most popular, and not only among those with very round cheeks. More and more people want a defined hollowing of the cheeks, similar to the look they get when parting their lips, blowing a whistle or after elaborate contouring. Doctors, however, advise people to think carefully before resorting to surgery, weighing up the pros and cons. Potential (though relatively rare) complications include accidental injury to the salivary gland or facial nerves, but the most common risk is related to advancing age. The biggest problem with buccal fat removal is that as we age, we naturally lose some facial firmness, which means that people who have undergone the procedure will become even more hollowed out, with a thinner and potentially older appearance when they are older or older. Thus, since the bichectomy is irreversible, the only way to plump up the cheek area would be to resort to further surgery, which this time, instead of taking away, should add volume.