Surgery · Facial Contour

Buccal Fat Removal

One pocket of fat, taken from inside the mouth

Apgujeong, Seoul | Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonghwan Choi
Selective excision of the deep cheek pad · KHIDI-registered for international patients

Buccal Fat Removal Deep Cheek Fat Buccal Fat Removal Deep Cheek Fat 
Define

Buccal fat removal

What is buccal fat removal, and which cheek deposit does it take?

The short answer

Buccal fat removal takes out the buccal fat pad, a discrete parcel of fat held inside a pocket deep in the cheek, through an incision of roughly 1 cm made on the inside of the mouth. Rewind's surgical page describes the operation as a selective one: only the pad is drawn out of its pocket, the surrounding tissue is left alone, and the opening is closed with dissolving sutures. Nothing is cut on the outer surface of the face.

Source: Rewind's Korean page for deep-cheek fat removal, which records the incision length, the selective excision and the closure material. The same page states no anaesthetic type and no time in theatre, so this page states neither.

A full-looking cheek can be produced by several different things at once, and this operation reaches exactly one of them. Fat lying in the subcutaneous layer, a heavy chewing muscle, skeletal width and skin that has travelled downward with age each read as fullness in a photograph, and none of the four is treated through the mouth. Sorting them apart is the work of the examination, and it is what decides whether the pad is worth touching at all.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi at the operating table at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 01 — The medical director at the table, Richro Building, Apgujeong
Result

Case photographs

Rewind's buccal fat cases, and what else was done in the same session

Four cases from the clinic's own records appear here. Only the first was a buccal fat excision on its own. In the other three the pad came out during an operation that also suctioned fat elsewhere in the face or tightened the neck muscle, and the caption under each pair names every procedure in that session. The contour you are looking at is the sum of all of them, which is the main reason two cheeks with the same complaint can be quoted two different ways.

Rewind patients — deep cheek fat

Front view before buccal fat removal performed on its own Front view after buccal fat removal performed on its own BEFOREAFTER
case 01
Buccal fat removal, performed as a single procedure
Individual results may vary.
Oblique view before buccal fat removal combined with double-chin liposuction and platysma work Oblique view after buccal fat removal combined with double-chin liposuction and platysma work BEFOREAFTER
case 02
Buccal fat removal + double-chin liposuction + platysma tightening
Individual results may vary.
Profile view before buccal fat removal with facial and double-chin liposuction and platysma work Profile view after buccal fat removal with facial and double-chin liposuction and platysma work BEFOREAFTER
case 03
Buccal fat removal + facial and double-chin liposuction + platysma tightening
Individual results may vary.
Profile view before buccal fat removal with jaw line and cheek liposuction and platysma work Profile view after buccal fat removal with jaw line and cheek liposuction and platysma work BEFOREAFTER
case 04
Buccal fat removal + jaw line and cheek liposuction + platysma tightening
Individual results may vary.

Every frame is a Rewind patient, photographed at the clinic in the same position and the same light on both visits, and published unretouched. Results vary between individuals, and the combinations listed above are part of the reason. Swelling, bruising, altered sensation, asymmetry and scarring can follow any surgical procedure. None of these pairs forecasts a personal outcome; an examination has to come first.

Layers

Cheek anatomy

Which cheek compartment is reached from inside the mouth?

The cheek is not one mass. Four separate findings make a face read full, and a buccal fat excision addresses the second of them while leaving the other three untouched. Reading which one dominates is the reason the consultation happens before the price does.

compartment 01
Subcutaneous fat
The layer immediately under the skin of the side and front cheek. It is reached with a cannula from the outside and is quoted per area as cheek liposuction, never through the mouth.
compartment 02
The buccal fat pad
A deeper parcel of fat contained in its own pocket, sitting between the chewing muscles. Rewind's page describes it as fat in a bag, so it can be lifted out of its pocket selectively; a suction cannula is the wrong instrument for reaching it.
compartment 03
The masseter and the bone
Muscle bulk and the width of the jaw itself. Both read as a heavy lower face in photographs, and neither is altered by removing fat. Where this is the finding, the surgeon says so at the examination.
compartment 04
Descended soft tissue
Cheek volume that has travelled downward and gathered above the jaw line. This is a question of support, answered by the lifting operations, and taking fat out of a descended cheek can make the descent more obvious.
Steps

In sequence

How is the buccal fat pad removed, in three published steps?

Rewind publishes this operation as three steps. It is short in description because the surgical decision sits before it, in how much of the pad leaves the pocket, and because nothing is opened on the outside of the face at any point.

01Access

An incision of about 1 cm inside the cheek

The opening is made on the inner lining of the mouth, at a point the surgeon chooses over the pocket. Because the mucosa heals quickly and the wound faces inward, the face carries no external mark from the approach.

02Select

Only the unnecessary part of the pad is taken

The pad is eased out of its pocket and the portion judged surplus is removed. Rewind's own wording is that only unnecessary fat is taken, selectively, which is a restraint on volume as much as an instruction on method.

03Close

Dissolving sutures finish it

The mucosal opening is closed with sutures that dissolve on their own, so there is no separate visit to have stitches taken out. What remains is the aftercare inside the mouth for the following days.

Surgical team at work under the operating light at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 02 — The three steps above are carried out by the medical director himself
Rewind

Why here

Why the size of a buccal fat excision is an ageing decision

The pocket does not refill once it has been emptied, and that is the part of this operation that deserves the most thought. A cheek judged full at twenty-five is often the same cheek that will thin on its own by forty-five, and published surgical commentary treats over-resection of this pad as a recognised source of a hollowed midface later. At Rewind the amount taken is argued against that timeline by the surgeon who will be looking at your face again in ten years.

01Diagnosis

Whether the pad is even the finding

Dr. Choi palpates the cheek himself and separates deep fat from the subcutaneous layer, from muscle bulk and from tissue that has descended. Where the pad is a minor part of what you see, he says so before a date exists, and the conversation moves to a different operation or to none.

02Restraint

Volume removed is judged against the next two decades

The operation is sized so that the cheek reads lighter now without reading empty later. Restraint is easier to defend than a second operation to replace what was taken, and it is why an excision here is deliberately conservative in a face that already shows early volume loss.

03Continuity

One surgeon at the examination, in theatre and afterwards

Rewind is a single-surgeon practice, so the person who judged the volume is the person who removed it and the person you see at follow-up. International patients are supported in their own language throughout, and the clinic is registered with KHIDI as an institution for foreign patients.

Consultation and facial assessment at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong
Fig. 03 — The cheek is assessed by hand before any volume is discussed
Theatre

In the operating room

The room the cheek is opened in, and who closes it

Operating room at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Richro Building

Fig. 04 — The theatre on the fifth floor, prepared for a contour case

Preparation of a draped patient before surgery at Rewind Plastic Surgery

Fig. 05 — Draping and preparation, before the mouth is opened

Rewind occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the Richro Building in Apgujeong, and the operating room sits inside the same practice as the consultation room. One surgeon plans the case and performs it; no part of a booked operation is passed to a second operator. Because the whole procedure happens inside the mouth, there is no shaved area, no external dressing on the cheek and no drain.

Incision approximately 1 cm, inside the cheek
No incision on the outer surface of the face
Only the surplus portion of the pad is excised
Closure with dissolving sutures
Operated by Dr. Jonghwan Choi
Soft diet from the day of surgery
Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeon at Rewind

Board-certified plastic surgeon

Every case at Rewind is examined, operated and followed up by Dr. Jonghwan Choi, who holds Korean board certification in Plastic Surgery. The clinic is registered with KHIDI for the care of international patients — Reg. M-2025-01-08-09288.

Cost

Pricing

What does buccal fat removal cost in Seoul, alone and combined?

Rewind prices this operation two ways. Performed on its own it carries one figure; performed inside a larger contour session it carries a lower one, because the preparation and the theatre time are already committed. The items most often quoted beside it are listed here as well, since three of the four cases above were combined sessions.

Buccal fat removal, single procedureThe deep cheek pad taken on its own, both sides
₩2,000,000
Buccal fat removal within a combined operationAdded to a session already booked for liposuction or neck work
₩1,500,000
Side-cheek liposuctionThe subcutaneous layer, quoted per area and often paired with the pad
₩940,000
Double-chin and jaw line liposuctionWhere the border under the jaw is part of the complaint
₩1,760,000

List prices, VAT excluded, with anaesthetic fees already inside the listed figure. Which line applies to you is settled at the examination, and a combined figure is written out item by item before anything is booked.

Fit

Suitability

Which cheeks suit buccal fat removal, and which are refused?

Findings the operation is examined for

  • Cheeks that stay plump through weight change, with the fullness sitting low and deep
  • A lower cheek that bulges and drops, blunting the line between cheek and jaw
  • The appearance of holding food in the cheek, described in Rewind's own patient wording
  • A jaw line that reads uneven because the cheek above it carries volume
  • A younger face with good skin quality, where volume is surplus and support is intact

Reasons the operation is declined or postponed

  • A midface that is already thin or beginning to hollow — removing the pad would deepen it
  • Fullness that turns out to be descent, where a lifting operation is the subject and suction or excision is not
  • A heavy chewing muscle or a wide jaw angle, since neither changes when fat is removed
  • Expectations tied to a jaw or chin outline that this operation cannot reach
  • Bleeding, clotting or healing conditions, regular medication affecting them, active oral infection, pregnancy or breastfeeding
After

Recovery

Eating, brushing and the weeks after an intraoral incision

The aftercare for this operation is unusual in that almost all of it happens inside the mouth. Rewind's post-operative instructions permit tooth brushing from the day of surgery and ask for soft food until the following day, and the clinic records that swelling is limited because the incision is small. How presentable you feel in that first week is individual, and the clinic's own page is more confident about it than this one will be.

Day one
Soft food, and brushing is allowed
You may brush your teeth on the day of the operation. Food stays soft until the next day, and the wound is kept clean with whatever rinse the clinic has given you.
First week
Nothing that stretches the cheek
Opening the mouth wide, chewing hard food and puffing air into the cheeks all pull on a fresh mucosal closure. Rewind asks patients to avoid all three for a period after surgery.
Sutures
No removal appointment
Because the closure uses dissolving material, there is no visit to have stitches taken out. Follow-up is arranged around how the mucosa and the swelling are settling.
Settling
Volume reads true only later
Early swelling flatters and then exaggerates by turns, so the shape of the cheek should not be judged in the first weeks. Ageing and weight change continue afterwards, as they do after any contouring operation.

Any surgical procedure carries risk, including bleeding, infection, prolonged swelling, altered sensation, asymmetry between the two sides and scarring at the closure. Injury to structures neighbouring the pocket is a recognised risk of cheek surgery and is one of the reasons the dissection is kept selective. Tell the surgeon about every previous facial procedure and every medication you take before a date is agreed.

Doctor

Professional

At Rewind, one board-certified plastic surgeon carries every case — from the first consultation to the final follow-up. Because a face is a story, and a story deserves a single author.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeonRewind,
Dr. Jonghwan Choi presenting at an academic session
Fig. 06 — Academic session, presented by the medical director

Rewind's Doctor

Dr. Jonghwan Choi Medical Director

One surgeon, from the first
consultation to the last follow-up.

A board-certified plastic surgeon devoted to anti-aging lifting — with the precision and restraint built through years of craniofacial practice.

Board-certified plastic surgeon (Plastic Surgery)
10 peer-reviewed publications
Medical Director, Rewind Plastic Surgery
Korean Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons
Former chief director, Apgujeong Y&T Plastic Surgery
Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
J Craniofac Surg · JKMS · Arch Craniofac Surg
Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
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Ask

Questions

Buccal fat removal in Seoul — what patients ask before booking

What is the buccal fat pad, and where does it sit?
It is a parcel of fat contained in its own pocket, lying deep in the cheek between the chewing muscles. Rewind describes it as fat held in a bag, so it can be lifted out of that pocket whole, and a suction cannula is the wrong instrument for reaching it.
Is there a scar on the face after this operation?
The incision is made on the inner lining of the cheek, so nothing is cut on the outer surface of the face. Rewind's page records that the intraoral approach leaves no externally visible mark. The closure inside the mouth heals as mucosa does, under the aftercare instructions you are given.
Do the stitches need to be removed at a later visit?
No. The clinic closes with dissolving sutures, so there is no appointment to have stitches taken out. Follow-up visits are arranged around how the swelling and the mucosal wound are settling instead.
Can I eat and brush my teeth the same day?
Rewind's instructions allow tooth brushing on the day of surgery and ask for soft food until the following day. For a period after that, avoid opening the mouth wide, chewing hard food and puffing your cheeks out, since all three pull directly on the closure.
Will taking the pad out sharpen my jaw line?
It changes the cheek above the jaw line, so the outline can read cleaner. The jaw line itself is made by the border under the chin, by muscle bulk and by bone, and none of those is touched here. Where the jaw is the complaint, the examination usually points to a different operation.
Does the fat come back if I put on weight?
The pocket is emptied of the portion that was taken, and that volume is not replaced. Remaining fat in the cheek behaves like fat anywhere else and can grow with significant weight gain, so a result is maintained by a stable weight as much as by the surgery.
How is the amount to remove decided?
By examination, and deliberately conservatively. Published surgical commentary treats over-resection of this pad as a recognised cause of a hollowed midface in later years, so Dr. Choi sizes the excision against how your face is likely to age and takes less where volume loss has already started.
I am in my forties and my cheeks read heavy. Is this the operation for that?
Often it is not. Heaviness in an older cheek is frequently tissue that has descended and collected above the jaw line, and taking fat from a descended cheek can make the descent read more clearly. In that finding the conversation moves to the lifting operations.
What does buccal fat removal cost at Rewind?
Performed on its own it is listed at ₩2,000,000, and added inside a larger contour session at ₩1,500,000. Both figures exclude VAT and already contain the anaesthetic fee. A combined plan is written out item by item at consultation.
Is this the same thing as cheek liposuction?
No. Cheek liposuction works in the subcutaneous layer through a small external access point and is quoted per area at Rewind. Buccal fat removal reaches a deeper pocket from inside the mouth. Some faces are examined for one, some for the other, and some for both in a single session.
Can it be done in the same session as liposuction or neck surgery?
Yes, and three of the four cases shown on this page were exactly that. Rewind lists a separate, lower price for the pad when it is added to an operation already booked, because theatre preparation is shared. What gets combined is decided by the examination.
Why are the anaesthetic and the time in theatre not stated on this page?
Because Rewind does not publish either for this operation, and we do not print figures the clinic has not recorded. Both are confirmed by the surgeon once your plan is set, along with what you should stop taking beforehand and when you may travel.
Booking

Reservation

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Scientific evidence

Published research on buccal fat pad excision and facial fat reduction

Two of the papers below are about this pad specifically: one is a caution on taking too much, the other a description of measured technique. The remaining two come from the liposuction literature and are included because most Rewind buccal cases are performed inside a wider contour operation, and because skin behaviour after fat removal is age-dependent.

These papers describe buccal fat excision and fat removal as a surgical class. They are not studies of Rewind Plastic Surgery, they do not predict what will happen to an individual cheek, and the techniques, anaesthesia and settings reported in each are those of the authors concerned.