Facial Fat Removal – Can it Be Done With Liposuction?

The face is the one area of the body where the use of liposuction for fat removal is largely more theoretical than practical. While the face is certainly full of fat (some more than others), its fat locations are not easily accessed and removed like it is done elsewhere. Facial fat is more fibrous and tougher to suction. In addition, there are numerous branches of the facial nerve and they do pose a risk for injury. Short of the neck (if you consider this part of the face) and the buccal fat pad, most other facial fat areas can not be removed by liposuction.

The neck can be liposuctioned while the buccal fat pad can be directly extracted through a small open incision. Removal of any other facial fat areas through liposuction is not only ineffective but can cause a lot of tissue trauma and prolonged swelling.

When liposuction first became widely used in the 1980s and 90s, facial liposuction was both advocated and widely written about. It was used to try and reduce facial fullness in the lateral face and even reduce the prominent mound of tissue that develops above the nasolabial fold with aging. It was proven to be ineffective and has since become largely abandoned as a treatment for facial fullness.

For those seeking to reduce their ‘fat’ face or to deround their facial appearance, liposuction is not the answer. It simply can not do what can be done for the circumference of the thigh or the waistline. One cannot deflate the face so to speak.

Improving the shape of a very full and round face does include some fat removal which is accessible, that being the buccal and neck fat. But fat removal alone is inadequate as it can only change some of the contour. If a full neck is all that bothers someone, then liposuction alone is a good treatment. But for more total facial sculpting and definition creation, it must be combined with other procedures that bring out or highlight facial prominences such as the chin, cheeks, or jaw angles. Using implants in these facial convexity areas can help bring shape to an otherwise amorphous round face.