Maxfacts

Cheeks

Postoperative problems affecting the cheeks include

• Scars. Most facial surgical scars are designed to lie in natural skin folds or resting skin tension lines, which allows them to be very effectively hidden.
• Large areas of skin loss and replacement can have a variable colour match and all scars take time to settle in both colour and prominence. Hypo- and hyperpigmentation of skin grafts and/or scars can occur.
• Altered sensation if underlying nerves (infraorbital, zygomatico-facial and zygomatico-temporal branches of the trigeminal nerve (one of the cranial nerves)) are damaged.
• Buccal mucosa (the inside surface of the cheek). This loose tissue is commonly bitten whether it has suffered altered sensation or not. If swollen postoperatively, it is more likely to be bitten and there is virtually nothing useful to prevent this. In very rare cases (such as syndromes in patients who have no sensation of pain) mouth guards made of silicone have been used. The biggest problem arises if the parotid duct (the connection of the parotid salivary gland to the oral cavity) is damaged or obstructed by the process.