I would like plastic surgery on my cheeks

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Question:

I would like plastic surgery on my cheeks. They have gotten very thin. I am interested in fat transfer for this. Where do you get the fat from on my body? How much do you remove and is it treated before it is put into my cheeks? Is it injected into the cheeks?

Answer:

Fat transfer is a procedure that is gaining not only a lot of interest but we are seeing many years longevity. As we age we lose volume in the upper cheeks, mid face and the area around the mouth. By using a patient’s own fat, much of the fullness and a more youthful appearance can be achieved. The area that we harvest the fat does not require a lot of fat removal, however, it is individual based and we have no real preference so in some patients we will take fat from their abdomen, others from the outer thigh, and yet other patients who do not have a lot of fat to spare we can easily harvest from the inner thigh area. Essentially the broken fat cells are separated from the viable or living fat and once the fat has been processed, spun down in a centrafuge, cleaned; it is tediously injected back into the areas where the volume loss has occurred.

We tell patients that they will continue to age and while I do not necessarily feel we will see 10 years of results, we are seeing many years of result from this. On some occasions many patients opt for having some additional fat transfer performed years later.

About the Author: Dr. Edwin Williams

Dr. Edwin Williams is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who founded The Williams Center in 1993. He has performed over 10,000 facial plastic surgery procedures and has pioneered the deep plane facelift. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery for over a decade, and served as President from 2015-2016. In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Dr. Williams earned the Castle Connelly Top Doctors award in New York Facial Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Edwin F. Williams III attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982. He began medical school at the State University of Buffalo School of Medicine and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1986.

Dr. Williams is actively involved in teaching facial plastic and reconstruction surgery to the residents of the Albany Medical Center and is former Chief of the Section of Facial and Plastic Reconstruction Surgery at Albany Medical Center where he received an academic appointment of Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery.