Cheekbone Reduction Korea: When the Width of Your Face Is Bone

Hello, I'm Park Sang Wook, Deputy Medical Director and board-certified plastic surgeon at VG Plastic Surgery in Seoul, working in our facial contouring and nose centres. I am a member of the Maxillofacial Contouring Surgery Research Group. Cheekbone reduction Korea is a search that often comes before a message to me, usually with a selfie and one question: why does my face look wider in photos than I feel it is?

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Park Sang Wook

Deputy Medical Director · Board-certified in Plastic Surgery

• — Board-certified plastic surgeon
• — Plastic surgery residency, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University of Korea
• — Former director, DA Plastic Surgery

My answer starts with where the width sits. If the widest point of your face is the cheekbones, cheekbone reduction does most of the work. If it is the jaw or soft tissue, a different plan fits better, and I will say so.

Our facial contouring centre page shows cheekbone, jaw and chin surgery side by side, with real cases filtered by area. This article stays with the cheekbones.

What cheekbone reduction surgery changes

Cheekbone reduction, also called zygoma reduction, brings cheekbones that project sideways back inward. The face then reads narrower from the front, at the level just below the eyes and in front of the ears.

Patients often call it cheekbone shaving. The aim is not to file the surface until the bone looks flatter. It is to reduce the sideways projection, and how much is moved is decided on CT once the bone thickness is read.

If you are still unsure which bone is responsible, our facial contouring Korea guide compares all three areas. Here I go deeper into the cheekbones.

Who korean cheekbone reduction suits — and who it does not

Korean cheekbone reduction is a reasonable answer when the width you dislike comes from bone.

• Cheekbones that project sideways and make the face read as wide from the front
• A face that looks wider in photographs than in the mirror, because the cheekbones catch the light
• Cheekbones that stand out together with a square jaw, so the whole outline looks angular
• You can stay in Korea two weeks or more for follow-up

And these are the situations where I advise against it, or suggest something else first.

• The cause is soft tissue rather than bone. Then liposuction or a lift comes first
• Facial bone growth is not yet complete
• Your schedule is too short to stay through the swelling and the follow-up visits
• You have an uncontrolled systemic or bleeding disorder

Below are cheekbone reduction before and after photos from our facial contouring team, all with no jaw or chin work. Each was taken 3 months after surgery, and the change shows as less width at the upper-middle face.

The first patient is the same one shown at the top of this article, seen from the side. You can view this cheekbone-only case from every angle, with the time since surgery.

Cheekbones alone, or with the jaw and chin

Not every wide face is wide in one place. When the cheekbones and the jaw both stand out, reducing only the cheekbones can make the jaw look wider by comparison. Then we address them in one operation.

Cheekbones only

If the jaw and chin already fit your face, the cheekbones are treated on their own. Less surgery means a shorter operation and one area to recover.

Cheekbones and jaw

If the face is wide at both the cheekbone and the jaw angle, both are planned together so the outline narrows evenly. Our Korean jawline surgery guide explains how the jaw part is chosen.

Cheekbones, jaw and chin

When the chin is also wide or short, it becomes part of the plan, and the lower face is shaped as one line. That lower-face side is covered in our Korean V line surgery article, and the chin on its own in my chin surgery Korea guide.

The first case had cheekbone and square jaw reduction, the second added a long-curve jaw reduction, and the third included the chin as well. All three are from our facial contouring team at 3 months, when swelling is still settling.

Surgery day and recovery after zygoma reduction

Facial contouring takes 1.5–4 hours under general anesthesia, depending on how many areas are treated. We advise one night in the clinic, and you can wash your hair from the day after surgery. An anesthesiologist attends the whole operation.

Swelling around the cheekbones can make the face look fuller in the first weeks, not narrower. That is expected. The width you came in to change shows gradually over months.

Cheekbone reduction Korea: your stay, stitches and fee

For cheekbone reduction Korea trips, we ask international patients to stay at least 14 days. That covers the swelling peak, stitch removal at 10–14 days and the follow-up visits before you fly. You can map the dates with our guide on planning your days in Seoul.

• An interpreter throughout consultation, surgery day and follow-up visits
• One coordinator from your first message to three months after you fly home
• Partner hotels near the clinic, so you can walk back after your check-ups
• Remote follow-up for three months after you return home

On cost: there is no foreigner surcharge. International patients pay the same surgical fee as Korean patients, and the quote comes itemised and in writing after consultation. Cheekbones alone and cheekbones with jaw and chin are different operations, so we do not publish one price for cheekbone reduction surgery Korea patients ask about.

The first case combined cheekbone reduction with liposuction under the chin, because part of the fullness was fat. The second is another cheekbone-only case. Our full before and after archive lists every case with the operations that patient actually had.

What I check first before planning cheekbone reduction

Our team works to one principle: bone does not grow back, so we cut less of it. A face that only needs the cheekbones does not need the jaw touched as well.

You can read my training and memberships on my surgeon profile. Your photographs are reviewed by the surgeon who would plan your operation, and at the in-person consultation in Seoul you speak with that same surgeon.

Risks of cheekbone reduction and how we reduce them

Facial contouring is hard to undo. You should hear the risks from me before you decide, not after.

• Swelling is heavy and slow. It peaks around days 7–14 and the face only starts to look natural at 3–6 months. Leaving Korea early means missing your follow-up visits.
• Too much bone removed cannot be put back. We plan conservatively and leave what does not need cutting.
• Soft tissue can loosen after bone is reduced. If the cheeks and jawline slacken after contouring, a lift is the answer rather than more bone surgery — see our Korean facelift guide.
• The result depends on the rest of the face. If the jaw stays wide, the face can still look broad below the cheekbones. That is why the jaw is assessed in the same consultation.
• General anesthesia carries its own risk. An anesthesiologist attends the whole operation, and we do not proceed with an uncontrolled systemic or bleeding disorder.

If something looks different once you are home, the three months of remote follow-up exist for that. Send photographs and I answer in writing.

Whether you are only researching cheekbone reduction Korea or already planning dates, you can compare cheekbone cases with jaw and chin cases by area: our facial contouring surgery page filters them in one place.