Christian A. Prada, MD, FACS
St. Louis
Financing available
Christian A. Prada, MD, FACS is a plastic surgery practice in St. Louis, Missouri, rated 5 stars across 303 Google reviews, performing 21 tracked procedures.
A short procedure that removes the buccal fat pad from the lower cheek to create a more sculpted, hollowed look, and the operation most likely to be regretted if done at the wrong age. Compare St. Louis clinics below and request a free consultation.
$2,500–$6,000
per procedure · USD
A general range for St. Louis, rounded for guidance. Confirm exact pricing with each clinic.
Plastic surgeons in St. Louis who list buccal fat removal among their procedures. Tap any surgeon to view details and request a consultation.
St. Louis
Financing available
Christian A. Prada, MD, FACS is a plastic surgery practice in St. Louis, Missouri, rated 5 stars across 303 Google reviews, performing 21 tracked procedures.
St. Louis
Financing available
Charles Nathan, MD, FACS is a plastic surgery practice in St. Louis, Missouri, rated 5 stars across 84 Google reviews, performing 21 tracked procedures.
St. Louis
Financing available
Nayak Plastic Surgery is a plastic surgery practice in St. Louis, Missouri, rated 4.8 stars across 291 Google reviews, performing 20 tracked procedures.
St. Louis
Financing available
MidAmerica Plastic Surgery: Ryan Diederich, MD is a plastic surgery practice in St. Louis, Missouri, rated 4.8 stars across 258 Google reviews, performing 19 tracked procedures.
St. Louis
Financing available
Aria Cosmetic Surgery is a plastic surgery practice in St. Louis, Missouri, rated 4.7 stars across 208 Google reviews, performing 18 tracked procedures.
A short procedure that removes the buccal fat pad from the lower cheek to create a more sculpted, hollowed look, and the operation most likely to be regretted if done at the wrong age.
One procedure, permanent and not reversible
3 to 7 days of visible swelling, final result at 3 to 6 months
Adults typically over 25 with genuinely full lower cheeks that have persisted at a stable, healthy weight, who understand the change is permanent
5 plastic surgery practices in the St. Louis area list buccal fat removal. From Google Places listings; hours and locations change, so confirm with the practice.
What 5 St. Louis practices that list buccal fat removal say on their own websites (checked September 2026); one that does not mention something may still offer it, so ask at your consultation.
Buccal fat pad removal is a simple yet beautiful procedure to slim your lower face and sculpt your cheeks. This procedure is performed in our office under local anesthesia.
Buccal fat pad removal is a simple yet beautiful procedure to slim your lower face and sculpt your cheeks. This procedure is performed in our office under local anesthesia.
Buccal fat removal surgery is a minor surgical procedure that is usually performed under local anesthesia.
Ideal candidates for our Glen Carbon buccal fat removal procedure are healthy adults who feel their cheeks are overly full or rounded, especially in contrast to the rest of their features.
buccal fat removal is performed through small incisions inside the mouth, leaving no visible scars
If you are a candidate for buccal fat pad removal you should not appear to hollow if you lose weight from exercise or natural aging
If you are a candidate for buccal fat pad removal you should not appear to hollow if you lose weight from exercise or natural aging
The best candidates for buccal fat removal are generally healthy non-smokers who would like to reduce fullness in their cheeks.
Swelling after buccal fat removal is common for 1-2 weeks.
Buccal Fat Removal generally runs $2,500–$6,000 per procedure, and each St. Louis clinic sets its own price. The biggest variables are the provider's experience level and the specific device or product used. Newer technology and senior injectors price at the upper end. Pricing is quoted in US dollars (USD). Request a consultation from any of our listed St. Louis clinics for a personalized quote.
Maintenance schedules vary. Most St. Louis providers recommend periodic refresh sessions every 6–12 months once optimal results are achieved.
Most patients wait 24 hours before applying makeup to avoid irritation on freshly-treated skin.
It is a distinct, encapsulated pad of fat sitting in the hollow of your cheek, separate from the fat layer just under the skin. It is not the same thing as general facial fullness or weight. Removing it narrows the lower cheek specifically. Because it is a discrete structure, the result is predictable, and because it does not grow back, the result is permanent.
Faces lose volume with age, naturally and progressively. Fullness in your twenties often becomes hollowness in your forties without any surgery at all. Removing the buccal fat pad accelerates that trajectory permanently, and a result that looks sculpted at 25 can look gaunt at 45. Many surgeons decline to perform it on younger patients for exactly this reason, and that refusal is good judgment rather than lost business.
Not really. The pad cannot be put back. Volume can be restored with fillers or fat grafting, which means ongoing cost and maintenance for the rest of your life to replace something you paid to have removed. Treat this as a permanent decision, because functionally it is.
Nationally, $2,500 to $6,000, which makes it one of the least expensive procedures on this list. That affordability, combined with heavy social media promotion, is part of why it is so frequently performed on people who are poor candidates. Low cost is not a reason to have an irreversible operation.
Someone with true buccal fat pad prominence, meaning full lower cheeks that persist even at a stable healthy weight, who is old enough that their facial fat distribution has settled, generally mid-twenties and beyond, and who understands the aging trajectory. Someone who simply wants a more contoured face and has seen it online is usually better served by makeup, weight stability, or nothing at all.
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