Cheek augmentation is a popular facial enhancement procedure that can be done by a variety of methods. The most approach today is that of an injectable technique using either synthetic fillers or the patient’s own fat. The injectable cheek augmentation material is often highly influenced by whether any other surgery is being done, fillers in the office and fat in the operating room.
But the historic and only true one-time permanent cheek augmentation method is that of implants. Cheek implants have been around for over three decades and have evolved into a wide variety of styles and sizes. Cheek implants today definitely have far better choices for surgeons and patients to select. But careful assessment of almost all current cheek implants styles can be seen to be geared more towards women than men. Creating submalar and more anterior zones of augmentation creates more of a full rounder or ‘apple‘ cheek effect. In my experience this is really not what most men are interested in achieving, particularly that of the younger male.
Many men seek a cheek augmentation effect that can only be described as the ‘male model look’. In essence this is a very angular facial look characterized by high strong cheek bones and a well defined jawline. The cheeks have a unique shape that creates a strong skeletal contour along the main zygomatic bone the whole way back along the zygomatic arch to the temporal region. As a result of the bone shape an underlying facial concavity is created beneath it. There is no cheek implant today that can come close to making the cheek bones have this look.
While this type of male cheek look may be exaggerated through the use of lighting, makeup and Photoshop, the point remains that current cheek implants are not designed to remotely achieve this type of facial skeletal augmentation. For these more exaggerated male cheek looks that some men desire, I have found that a special custom cheek implants design can help achieve this facial look. The difference in this implant design is the anterior zygomatic prominence is high and the augmentation goes the whole way back along the zygomatic arch to just in front of the ear in a tapering fashion.
This type of cheek implants does not achieve its effect because it is necessarily thicker. Rather it achieves a powerful cheek augmentation effect because of the surface area that it covers in a better bony location.
Such a custom cheek implant design works best in men with leaner or thinner faces. This is the type of face where the skeletal augmentation is best seen. This is well illustrated in male model faces where it can be seen that they all have an overall thinner face with little subcutaneous fat.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana