Inside Tom Cruise's dramatic face transformation as expert says new pics show post-op 'swelling'

WITH his boyish good looks and absence of frown lines, plastic surgery rumours have dogged Tom Cruise for years.

Although he has consistently denied going under the knife, fans have speculated the ever-youthful star has had a nose job, hair transplant and Botox, as well as veneers on his teeth.

The latest pictures of the 59-year-old at a baseball game in San Francisco, which sees him sporting a much fuller-face, have set social media alight once more.

Fans are questioning whether he's had botched fillers, with one tweeting: "What has Tom Cruise done to his face?"

Another wrote: “Tom Cruise has either gained weight, or he has a face full of fillers. I’m going with the fillers.”

Dr Alice Henshaw, owner and practioner of Harley Street Injectables, says the Mission Impossible star looks "swollen" - potentially after going under the knife.

"Tom definitely looks swollen and puffy, which could be due to filler, post procedure swelling or weight gain," she tells The Sun.

"I believe he's had fillers under his eyes and around his mouth and nose in the past, but this time is different.

"A side profile view of him shows his neck is also quite swollen. Filler would not be placed in this area, which signifies it would not be filler but rather swelling or weight gain.

"Often surgical procedure such as a platysmal plasty, or neck lift, combined with a mid-facelift could create this type of swelling in these areas, and scars are easily disguised."

Dr Henshaw also believes rumours of a hair transplant might be spot on.

"At almost 60, Tom's hairline has remained relatively the same, although slightly thinning, which does suggest he may have had hair transplants," she says.

As the debate rages, we look at how the star's face has changed over the years.

Tom's signature smile has always been part of his charm but he wasn’t born with a perfect grin.

When he starred in The Outsiders, in 1982, his teeth were visibly yellowed and misaligned, with a pronounced overbite.

He also removed a cap on a chipped front tooth to appear even more menacing.

But when leading man status beckoned, with roles like Maverick in Top Gun, he had his teeth whitened to improve the look.

As his career reached dizzying heights, with the release of Top Gun in 1996, the 24-year-old still had much of his boyish charm and lean face.

His role as young naval aviator Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell cemented him as a Hollywood heartthrob.

In an unusual look for the clean-cut movie legend, Tom mixed it up in 1996 with some rugged facial hair and long flowing locks.

That year he took on the title role in Jerry Maguire, for which he earned a Golden Globe and his second nomination for an Academy Award.

It wasn’t until 2001, after splitting from Nicole Kidman, that Tom got braces to rectify his overbite, proudly showing them off at the premiere of Minority Report.

But fans still commented on his asymmetrical teeth, which saw one front tooth aligned with the centre of his face.

At 44, Tom looked less gaunt than he did in his youth, having grown into his face.

His chiselled jaw and killer smile had female fans falling at his feet.

By 2010, Tom's face was beginning to change, occasionally looking chubbier, possibly due to weight flunctuation.

The superfit star pushed himself to the limit whenever he was filming a stunt-filled action role but would also put on a few pounds between movies.

Rumours the star had undergone a nose job began back in 2012 but, asked by Playboy magazine if he had ever had surgery, he replied: “I haven’t and never would.”

But pal Cuba Gooding Jr fanned the flames by insisting Tom had “absolutely” had work done.

Cuba told a US TV show: "I don’t know what he’s had done, but I remember I surprised him at his house one day and he had all of these dots all over his face.

"I was like, 'You all right?' and he goes, 'I didn’t know you were coming' and I was like, 'I can see why.'"

Dr Henshaw says the dots could indicate many types of surgical or non surgical procedures to make the skin tighter and younger-looking.

She says: "Often dots or markings are drawn on whilst we mark out injection points on the face, but we do this for filler injectables, Profhilo (a collagen stimulator) or even a skin tightening procedure using radio frequency such as Thermage, or a medical grade ultrasound skin tightening like ultraformer."

Tom's appearance at the 2016 BAFTAs had fans commenting on how he looked "inflated" and "puffy" - a common sign of both Botox and fillers.

"Tom looked as if he had undereye filler and filler around his mouth and nasal labial fold in 2016," says Dr Henshaw.

"But the recent pictures at the baseball match show swelling that doesn't come with fillers."

Dental experts also suggested he had veneers added to make his dazzling smile even whiter.

At the Mission Impossible: Fallout premiere in 2018, Tom looked leaner, with more lines showing on his forehead.

While this could be down to a punishing exercise regime and work schedule for the film, which he also produced, it could also mean he ditched fillers and Botox after the 2016 pictures attracted unwanted attention.

But the latest snaps of the star have definitely raised eyebrows once again.

They came hot on the heels of snaps of Tom at a Birmingham curry house where his face also looked "puffy".

Dr Henshaw says it could be Tom - like many of us - has just put on a few pounds during lockdown.

"It would be hard to say whether it was weight gain without seeing full photo of his body," she adds.

However he didn't appear to be carrying excess weight during summer appearances at Wimbledon and Wembley.