Creating Dimples with Plastic Surgery – A Good Idea?

A number of small plastic surgery procedures are available that don’t normally enter into public discourse. While most familiar with plastic surgery automatically think of breast augmentation, liposuction, and a tummy tuck, procedures that aim for smaller corrections and/or enhancements catch the curiosity of those in need.

One of these is a procedure meant to create dimples, known as dimpleplasty. Board certified plastic surgeons Dr. Chet Mays of Louisville and Dr. Dustin Reid of Austin discuss creating dimples for patients and whether or not the procedure, even if small, is a good idea.

Creating Dimples with a Dimpleplasty

Dimples, in essence, are a small “deformity” of the face that create an aesthetically-pleasing indentation in the skin. From kids whose cheeks are squeezed throughout their youth (“Look at those cute dimples!”) all the way to adults made famous by their beauty, these little indentations in the cheeks and/or chin produce a sought-after aesthetic.

For plastic surgeons, they do discuss creating dimples with patients with a procedure known as dimpleplasty. Is there any worry to adding dimples in surgically? “As long as you…set an expectation, [the procedure] is relatively easy,” shares Dr. Reid. “The biggest problem with it is sometimes it’s hard to get it to stay as deep as they want it to be. But, I think it’s safe and if they want it, I have no problem doing that.”

Dr. Reid’s thoughts on the matter are shared by Dr. Mays: dimpleplasty is a relatively simple procedure for deft surgeons with few surgical drawbacks. “As plastic surgeons, it’s a privilege to operate on these patients,” says Dr. Mays. “Dimpleplasty is usually done under local [anesthesia] in about 30 minutes in the office. If you can do it safely, and if it’s the result they’re looking for, I say, ‘Let’s go for it.'”

Do Patients Consider What Things Will Look Like Later in Life?

Both Dr. Reid and Dr. Mays are more than comfortable performing the procedure – assuming the patient understands how the results may progress over their lifetimes. With a board certified surgeon, results are readily achievable and many patients are more than thrilled with the results. The one thing that patients must understand is the longevity of those results. The best surgeons are those who are physicians first: a patient’s well-being is priority number one, which includes making sure they’re properly educated about the now as well as the future. “That’s part of our job is to make sure that they’re thinking down the line,” explains Reid.

The one drawback with dimpleplasty is how the face ages. Facial aging is a multivariate process over decades that relies on external factors like sun exposure, smoking, and skincare, as well as time, gravity, and those ever-pesky genetics. Some patients may enjoy their dimpleplasty results for the rest of their lives, while others may watch that dimple fall much lower than they intended as the volume in their face recedes.

Trusting a board certified plastic surgeon to offer not only surgical services but counseling as to the lifetime of procedure results is critical. No great surgeon wants their patients to be left in the dark about what may transpire down the road – with any procedure. So long as the patient knows full-well about the possible long-term results of enhanced and/or created dimples, expert surgeons are good to go.

“Keep in mind that you have to educate [patients] that some of these procedures are not reversible,” shares Dr. Mays. “That dimple that’s high on their mid cheek in 30 years may be down by their lower jaw. That’s something that they need to consider, and that’s our part as board certified plastic surgeons to educate them on what this might look like down the road.”