Cheek implants additionally pull off what no different present process can obtain: “They supply extra carry to the tender tissue of the mid-face, as they’re firmer and may higher assist it,” says Dr. Chang. (After all, a facelift additionally lifts, however is usually targeted on the jawline and neck.)

If you’d like extra outstanding cheekbones or are looking for facial feminization whereas transitioning, the structural modifications supplied by cheek implants may be game-changing. In reality, the newest facial gender-affirming remedies usually entail buccal fats removing and cheek augmentation as a result of collectively they’ll higher create a heart-shaped face, which is taken into account to be a extra historically female look.

The one space the place cheek implants fall quick: They don’t do something to your total complexion. “Whereas cheek implants restore quantity, they don’t appropriate wrinkles and folds from solar injury,” says Dr. Boahene.

Not solely that, however there are different superficial fats pads within the face that lose quantity over time, inflicting hollows and irregular cheek texture; since cheek implants are positioned deep beneath pores and skin, between the bones of your face and layers of tissue, they don’t all the time compensate for this. Primarily, they’re nice for creating the look of outlined cheekbones, however don’t all the time easy the pores and skin over these cheekbones to handle fats loss that occurs with age. In such circumstances, “extra filler could also be indicated,” says Jennifer Levine, MD, a double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon and otolaryngologist in New York Metropolis.

What’s the downtime after cheek implant surgical procedure?

Publish-op downtime after getting cheek implants is comparatively quick. Says Dr. Doshi, “Within the days following surgical procedure, most sufferers expertise some swelling, bruising, and delicate discomfort, which may be managed with ache medicine and chilly compresses.”

Swelling can final from seven to 10 days, however in any other case there aren’t loads of seen indicators that you just’ve simply had surgical procedure, so you’ll be able to typically exit in public and resume regular actions throughout this time. That stated, whereas swelling will go down by about 50% throughout the first week or so, it could take six months for it to resolve completely, says Dr. Chang. The one different actual post-op limitation is train: You need to keep away from figuring out for 3 to 6 weeks to permit the implants to “settle” into place.

What are the dangers of cheek implants?

As with all surgical procedure, if you’re coping with an incision within the physique, a bacterial an infection is among the largest dangers. “An infection could require removing of the implants,” says Dr. Boahene, including that an infection — whether or not extreme sufficient to trigger removing or not — just isn’t frequent. (In response to a research in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgical procedure, between 2006 and 2016, solely 39 cases of hostile occasions associated to facial implants of any type had been reported to the FDA, 18 of which concerned infections.)