Chrissy Teigen tells how she had cheek reduction surgery – so what is it?

Chrissy Teigen has revealed that she had cheek reduction surgery as she showed off her new look on her Instagram stories over the weekend.

The 35-year-old model posted a video to her story and tagged Dr. Diamond. She added the text “No shame in my Mr Diamond game" over the video.

Dr. Jason Diamond is a famous plastic surgeon whose clinic has been visited by A-listers including Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian.

Pointing to her cheek, she said: “I did that Dr. Diamond buccal fat removal thing here, and since I quit drinking I’m really seeing the results and I like it.”

She then paused and said: “Yeah, I did it, what?"

Teigen has just recently celebrated 50 days of sobriety and posted a video to Instagram along with her children to share the milestone with her 35 million followers. Today she celebrates another important event ⁠— her eighth wedding anniversary with singer John Legend. “It’s our anniversary,” Legend wrote on Instagram, “I love you forever.”

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Teigen’s Instagram video was reshared by The Cosmetic Lane on Twitter but, worryingly, the cosmetic doctor from E4’s Body Fixers Dr Tijion Esho replied and said he would have removed her jaw filler instead as the procedure could “rapidly age” the star.

Teigen has long been open about the cosmetic procedures she’s had, and previously remarked that "everything about me is fake except my cheeks” and added “fake, fake, fake” as she pointed to her forehead, nose and lips.

Although she was being hyperbolic about having “everything” done, she previously went public about removing fat from her armpits and reversing her breast implant surgery.

What is buccal fat removal?

The little pads of fat in the hollows beneath our cheekbones are called buccal fat. Although everyone has buccal fat, some have larger ones which can give the face a round or “baby faced” look. Removing the buccal fat can slim down round faces.

According to Healthline, the procedure can be carried out under local anesthesia, meaning the patient will be awake during the surgery. The surgeon makes an incision on the cheek, and removes the fatty pads.

Recovery takes approximately three weeks, during which time patients have to use a special mouthwash to ward off infections and slowly reintroduce soft foods into their diets.

The slimming result is permanent because buccal fat is a “discreet fat pad” that is independent of the fat under the skin that fluctuates with weight gain or weight loss, according to Dr. Donald B. Yoo.