How to Recover From a Cheek Augmentation

Rounded cheeks are often associated with health and youth. This effect can be achieved at any age with cheek augmentation surgery, which involves using implants to enhance the contours of your cheeks.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Juices
• Soups
• Antiseptic mouthwash
• Thermometer
• Protein shakes
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C

Recover From a Cheek Augmentation

1. Keep your sutures moisture-free for proper healing, if your surgery involved external sutures. This means no creams or lotions in the area surrounding the sutures, since these may cause inflammation.
2. Use an antiseptic mouthwash several times a day, if your surgery involved sutures made within the mouth.
3. Use cold compresses to help with bruising and swelling, but be careful not to injure your skin.
4. Prepare a liquid diet of soups and juices. If your surgery was done using incisions within your mouth, you'll have to limit your diet to liquids until your wounds have properly healed.
5. Consume protein shakes to help you recover. Protein helps the body heal.
6. Supplement your diet with vitamin A and vitamin C. Both these vitamins can be useful in mitigating swelling and hastening recovery.
7. Grow a beard, if you're a man. This can help disguise the puffiness that occurs following surgery. If you're a woman and would rather not discuss your cheek augmentation, simply tell people you've have dental work done.
8. Keep a close eye on your cheek implants. In some cases, implants become slightly misaligned. Should this occur, a second operation will be necessary to correct it.
9. Understand that it may be several months before you see the final results of your surgery, since it takes a while for swelling to completely disappear.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep track of your body temperature. An elevated temperature could be a sign of infection.
• As soon as you're able, get on your feet. If you lie around excessively as you recover from cheek implants, you increase the risk of blood clots.
• Stay away from exercise or strenuous activities for at least 21 days. This sort of activity can raise your blood pressure and trigger bleeding.
• Avoid blood thinning medications for about a month following your cheek augmentation surgery. Blood thinning medications can cause bleeding.
• See your doctor if infection develops. The infection may be treated with antibiotics. However, in some cases, the implant may have to be temporarily removed to address the infection.
• Understand that in some cases, patients feel emotional or upset immediately following the procedure. If you're experiencing this, know that it is simply a reaction to the anesthesia and will pass in due time.