Face liposuction

Face liposuction removes fat beneath the skin of the cheeks, the jawline and the area under the chin through small incisions, using a thin tube called a cannula. How much fat each area holds differs from person to person. In Zhang and colleagues’ 2025 ultrasound study of 51 people, the layer of skin and superficial fat along the jawline was thickest at the jowl, and it was thicker in people with a higher BMI or age. ^{[1] [3]}

Fullness of the lower face can also come from loose skin or muscle, which liposuction does not tighten. At examination, we check the fat, skin and muscle in each area before recommending liposuction alone or a combined operation. ^{[3] [6]}

Plan about 7 days in Seoul so that the follow-up visits and stitch removal fit before your return flight.

Plan your face liposuction visit

See procedure times and stitch-removal days

In a 2024 meta-analysis of 39 liposuction studies (29,368 patients), complications of any kind were reported in 2.62% of patients. The most common was contour irregularity (2.35%), followed by darker skin colour (1.49%), fluid collection (seroma, 0.65%) and bleeding under the skin (haematoma, 0.27%). These figures cover liposuction in general, not only the face. We explain these risks before surgery and check healing at each follow-up. ^[7]

Buccal fat removal is a different operation. The buccal fat pad lies deeper, between the facial muscles, and is removed through an incision inside the mouth or during a facelift; face liposuction removes fat beneath the skin. ^[5]

The evidence on buccal fat removal is limited. A 2018 systematic review found eight studies and no clinical trials, with minor complications in 8.45% of the 71 patients assessed; a 2021 review of four studies counted seven complications in 134 procedures. Neither review found data on long-term effects as the face ages. ^{[5] [4]}

Irregularities and asymmetry are recognised problems after facial liposuction. Gu and colleagues (2023) divided the treated area into subzones and counted the passes of the cannula in each to keep both sides even. No major complication was reported in their 32 patients, followed for 6 to 44 months. ^[1]

Across liposuction in general, not only of the face, contour irregularity was the most commonly reported complication (2.35%) in a 2024 meta-analysis of 29,368 patients. ^[7]

When loose skin or muscle shapes the contour, liposuction is often combined with another operation. In Han and colleagues’ 2024 study, 42 of 62 patients having a deep-plane facelift also had laser-assisted liposuction of the lower face; in those 42, ultrasound showed 21–26% less fat over the jaw muscle after surgery. ^[6]

At AVANT, face liposuction is performed under sedation. Researchers have also tested ways to reduce the pain of the anaesthetic injection: in Zhuang and colleagues’ 2024 report, 20 women who had face liposuction after nerve blocks of the face and neck rated their pain at 0.55 on average on a visual analogue scale. The figure describes that method. ^[2]