widecheekbones Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Hi everyone, Thank you for your interest in my experience. I’ve been a lurker of this website for quite some while, but I’ve never actually made an account or posted anything till now. This will be quite the long post, but hopefully it will be of benefit to you and/or others who are also interested in undergoing the same procedure. A little bit about me first – I am in my early 20s and I am of Asian descent.My Zygoma Reduction So I had this procedure done around 7 months ago in Korea. I grew up with wide, asymmetric cheekbones which gave me a wonky face outline and made my face appear more masculine. I think Asians who have nicely positioned cheekbone prominences look stunning, but for me, my cheekbones were protruding laterally towards the sides of my eyes. For me, zygoma reduction meant that I either have irregular cheekbone contours for the rest of my life or a smoother facial outline with less definition. I chose the latter. From a boney point of view, my surgeon did a great job considering the asymmetry that he had to work with. There were however, some soft tissue problems (aka sagging.) I am young so the sagging was very very minor. My friends couldn’t tell but my mother definitely could tell. Since my soft tissue is naturally tighter, it didn’t have much room to sag downwards. The only form of sagging I could really pinpoint was that I had slightly deeper nasolabial folds, which were much more apparent under certain lighting. Was I upset that I had sagging? Of course I was. To be sagging at such a young age, even if it was surgically induced, was devastating – especially in the first few months where I was psychologically adapting to my new look. But I would have still rather have chosen to do the surgery (that’s how badly I did not like my natural cheekbone structure.) Was I angry at my surgeon? At first yes. But I had to also remember that I was quite the patient outlier. This is mainly because I have very thick skin, with a lot of acne inflammation and scarring to weigh it down even further. And also because I have huge buccal fat pads that surgeons always liked to point out (thanks parents.) I knew this combination of features would contribute to potential sagging as it means my cheeks are being weighed down even more, but I went through with the surgery anyway.My Cheeklift Fast forward to today, I'm actually two days post-op a cheeklift (or midface lift without skin removal) to correct the minimal sagging from my zygoma reduction. My sagging was minor, like I said, but it was still enough to bother me to do something about it. Yes, you read that right. I got a cheeklift in my 20s. I consulted a highly respected craniofacial plastic surgeon in my home country to do this surgery, rather than a Korean plastic surgeon as I was not keen on spending money on threadlifting. My new surgeon did say that even in young adults, sagging after cheekbone osteotomies or cheek implant removals can occur when the natural adhesion of a person's flesh to bone is altered. He also has experience doing these lifts in young individuals who have skin sagging from congenital cheekbone deficiencies. The cheek lift was done via incisions in my temple and reusing my oral incisions from the zygoma reduction. I'm swollen like a football and it feels like I'm going through the zygoma reduction recovery all over again. Whether the lift has corrected my concerns from the zygoma reduction, I won't know til the swelling has gone down considerably. But I truly hope it has considering the pain and effort and money I have spent. I would love to keep updating you all on my experience. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me so I don't die of boredom during my second surgical recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arietta Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 I am planning to do cheek reduction as well, was wondering which clinic you went to and if you would like to share before and after pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleboots824 Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Widecheekbones, thank you for sharing your experience so far! I will definitely be following your progress. I hope your cheek lift is successful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widecheekbones Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 Hi Ariette, I've messaged you which clinic I went to in Korea for my zygoma reduction. As for before and after pictures, I'm ideally waiting for majority of my cheeklift swelling to go down first before I post my before zygoma / after zygoma / after cheek lift photos. And thank you littleboots824 ! The swelling from the cheeklift is massive right now, I can barely recognize myself at the moment. I'm extremely keen to see the swelling go down but one thing I learned from the zygoma reduction is that you really can't judge the final results from facial surgeries until 3 to 6 months later. My cheeklift surgeon said since my tissues are naturally tighter due to my young age, they wouldn't have a lot of room to be lifted. But a minor lift is what I wanted since the sagging was so minor, so fingers crossed that the results are what I want ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widecheekbones Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 4 Days Post-Op So I am four days post-op my cheeklift procedure to hopefully correct the minor sagging from my zygoma reduction. I'm at the peak of my swelling and I really didn't think I could get any uglier (but I was wrong lol.) The recovery has actually been worse than that of my zygoma contouring, where I felt no pain or sickness. I think one piece of advice I would like to give is to really have a deep think about whether zygoma reduction is something you truly want. It is very hard to pin point who will experience sagging and who will not due to the vast differences in our anatomy. With v-line surgery, your jaw contour can be reversed with custom implants to match your original jawline. But cheekbones are a little harder when the natural adhesion of your cheek tissue is messed with. I'm in my 20s and I experienced some minor sagging. It wasn't apparent to everyone else but it was apparent to me and it was enough to make me feel aged and I wasn't able to enjoy the full results of my surgery. Remember that you might not always like your results and be aware that secondary cheek tissue surgery / management might be necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim080600 Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 I have the same problem as you, Im planning to get two jaw , zygoma , vline thats what the doctor told me can give me some advice? Im 17 years old and my face is exactly how you describe your face shape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widecheekbones Posted August 4, 2018 Author Share Posted August 4, 2018 Hi there, I haven't undergone two jaw surgery or v-line surgery but if I can try to help you out with any questions related to zygoma reduction surgery (to the best of my abilities and knowledge.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pear-orange Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 hi @widecheekbones , please share with me the name of the clinic too if that's okay. I'm also planning to get bone reduction surgery but is concerned about sagging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widecheekbones Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Day 6 Post-Op Cheeklift Hoping that I've given good advice to everyone who has privately messaged me. Good to know that people are interested in my experience and surgical journey. Swelling has gone down immensely but I am still quite puffy. I still can't tell whether the sagging has been corrected due to the puffiness giving some superficial and temporary 'lifting' as well. I've developed a sharp pain in my cheek when I smile or bite down on food but my surgeon said that this is normal and will go away in the next week or so. I'm guessing it's because of the permanent sutures that were sutured into my flesh during the surgery. Maybe I'm just a huge worry wart lol. Hoping that the pain really does subside in a week or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamela18 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Hi hows your cheeks? Could you please message me which clinic you did your surgery and who did your cheek lift? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madambutterfly89 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 you shouldn't be doing this surgery big you're 17. You're bone structure is still developing and changing. you can change the width of your face but you can't change the scale of your skull. Reducing the cheekbones and jaw at the same time can elongate your face. So be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madambutterfly89 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 That's exactly right. Cheekbone reduction surgery will kill the natural adhesion/glue of your soft issue to bone. I think it should be mandatory for every surgeon to caution their patients of the risk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madambutterfly89 Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 [post-op my cheeklift procedure to hopefully correct the minor sagging from my zygoma reduction. I'm at the peak of my swelling and I really didn't think I could get any uglier (but I was wrong lol.) The recovery has actually been worse than that of my zygoma contouring, where I felt no pain or sickness. I think one piece of advice I would like to give is to really have a deep think about whether zygoma reduction is something you truly want. It is very hard to pin point who will experience sagging and who will not due to the vast differences in our anatomy. With v-line surgery, your jaw contour can be reversed with custom implants to match your original jawline. But cheekbones are a little harder when the natural adhesion of your cheek tissue is messed with. I'm in my 20s and I experienced some minor sagging. It wasn't apparent to everyone else but it was apparent to me and it was enough to make me feel aged and I wasn't able to enjoy the full results of my surgery. Remember that you might not always like your results and be aware that secondary cheek tissue surgery / management might be necessary.[/QUOTE] Some questions; 1)Where was the incisionbfor the cheeklift? 2)Does it leave any visable scarring? 3)i know it's still early but did you experience any side effects? 4) who was you surgeon that did the cheeklift? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabriellaa555 Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Girls do you think that just v line surgery or angle reduction will make face narrower? I think my face is also wide in the middle where cheeks are but some doctors told that only angle is needed and others that with zygoma. Do you know when i can find b and after for jusr zygoma or just angle reduction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddreamer Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Wait, I knew they have to pull the skin off to get at the bone but it doesn’t heal back to adhesion? Like ever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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