Explaining buccal fat removal surgery

Brut America

It's the latest cosmetic procedure taking over social media ... And it's sparking controversy.   What exactly is buccal fat removal surgery? Dr. Andrew Youn explains.

Transcript

00:00I did that Dr. Diamond buccal fat removal thing here.

00:04I'm really seeing the results and I like it.

00:08Buccal fat removal is the latest cosmetic procedure taking over social media,

00:12with online users speculating whether certain celebrities have had the procedure done

00:17and others sharing results of their own.

00:19But this trending surgery hasn't come without controversy.

00:23So there's a lot of controversy and like slander going around right now about buccal fat removal.

00:27I spoke with board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Yoon

00:31to better understand what the procedure entails and why everyone is talking about it.

00:36The buccal fat removal is a surgery that's been around for decades.

00:39It's interesting because a lot of people think it's a new procedure

00:41because all of a sudden people are talking about it,

00:43but this is a surgery that's been around for literally decades.

00:47As with other cosmetic procedures like lip fillers,

00:50fox eye lifts and BBLs, the buccal fat removal trend has largely been fueled by social media.

00:56This is my before and then this was six months after.

01:00I even see the results more so now.

01:01You can see how my face just looks a little bit more balanced and structured right here.

01:06I think social media is really powering this trend as well as celebrities.

01:10Now we know that Chrissy Teigen has admitted to having this done not that long ago,

01:14but we've also seen some celebrities who have had pretty almost impossibly sculpted faces

01:19who have not admitted to having this procedure done,

01:22but people think they may have had it done.

01:24You combine that with social media showing this operation being so easy and so simple,

01:29which in general it usually is and now you've got what's going on now.

01:33So what exactly is buccal fat?

01:35And why do surgeons remove it to achieve that accentuated cheekbone look

01:39that so many seem to be after?

01:41Buccal fat is a collection of fat that we all have inside our cheek.

01:45If you take your finger and you go right in front of that,

01:48there's a little hole there where you can actually feel your upper teeth

01:52and that's your buccal space.

01:53The buccal fat ranges in size from being literally the size of let's say a pea

01:58to the size of a big gumball.

02:00That is me before.

02:01She was a little chunky.

02:03The bottom picture, that's also me after the surgery.

02:07I think there's a big difference.

02:10But Dr. Yoon warns that although the procedure is relatively simple,

02:13like with all surgical operations, it comes with risks.

02:17There is a nerve called the facial nerve that runs in that space.

02:20So if you damage that nerve, you could cause some major problems

02:23with how your muscles move in your face.

02:25There's also a salivary duct that comes right through there as well.

02:29If you damage that, then now you can have major issues with your salivary glands.

02:34The main complication though that we may see with buccal fat removal

02:37is a hematoma, is bleeding afterwards.

02:40Now they have a huge cheek just filled with blood

02:42and that can take months for that to settle down.

02:45Some say the craze is the latest example of how an internet trend

02:49promotes impossible beauty standards.

02:51Instead of talking about how Lea Michele's buccal fat removal,

02:55rather than talking about whether we like how it looks,

02:57can we please talk about why it's rising as a trend?

03:00Is it because we're starting to see the rise of very thin people coming back into vogue?

03:05The plastic surgery to remove your fuller cheeks is trending?

03:08Not on my watch.

03:09So here's how I use makeup to accentuate my round cheeks.

03:12Because they're cute!

03:13Where it really gets tricky though is that unlike cosmetic procedures like

03:17implants that can be removed or fillers that can be dissolved,

03:20buccal fat removal is irreversible.

03:22The surgery results are permanent and therein lies the major issue

03:26because it will change the shape of your face and we all know that as we get older,

03:30the face does change shape on its own.

03:33So this is an operation that I do not recommend for somebody who has a facial shape like mine.

03:38You know, as I get older, I've got a bit of a longer,

03:40more narrow face. As I get older, my face is going to get more narrow.

03:44You take that buccal fat out and I'm going to start looking real gaunt and even

03:48older than I would if that fat was still there.

03:50This is exactly why I always say beauty standards are way too fleeting to commit to them and we

03:55should just use makeup instead because now it's something else.

03:59Then when we get older, we're going to go pay someone to put the fat back

04:02into our faces because it makes us look more youthful.

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