Cheek implants are not a common operation. In 2006, they ranked 32nd out of 34 cosmetic surgery procedures. So why am I saying that they're being done too often? Because they are. And for the wrong reasons since most women who get them really need something else.
Cheek implants are designed to increase the prominence of your upper cheek bones. But most women who come to me for cheek implants (or have gotten them done elsewhere) have normal or even prominent cheekbones. They don't need them augmented. No, what most of these women have is cheek ptosis - the sagging of the cheeks that happens with aging. Slowly, the fat pad that sits over the cheekbones slides down into the lower part of the face. The cheekbones lose their soft, youthful fullness. The lower cheeks get heavy and the face squares off. What these women actually need is a procedure that lifts the fat pad back up onto the cheekbones - a midface lift.
The midface lift restores the face's youthful shape by reversing the sagging. The cheekbones look full and soft and natural. Cheek implants here would make the cheekbones more prominent but also make the cheeks look bony. Bony faces don't look young. Bony faces look old. And cheek implants do nothing to fix the sagging that was the problem in the first place. There are men and women whose cheekbones are too small. They benefit from cheek implants. In these people, cheek implants are the right cure for the problem. It's just that I'll see one person like this for every ten midface lift candidates. That's why I'll bet you don't need cheek implants. I'll take 10 to 1 odds any day.
