The male aesthetic norm for chin position is a chin point that touches a tangent line between the mid nasal bridge and the edge of the upper lip. For a woman the chin point looks more feminine if it is about 5mm behind this tangent line. The male chin has a squared contour while the feminine contour is more rounded so round and squared chin implants are available in various sizes to yield a masculine or feminine contour with the right amount of forward projection.
The implants are placed via an incision inside the mouth or via an incision on the skin under the chin.
In this case a medpor chin implant was placed via an incision inside the mouth. Along with neck liposuction this gave the desired masculine profile. A feminine profile can be achieved by placing a rounded chin implant instead of the squared chin implant.
Read Dr. Stone’s blog about facial implantsFacial Implants
Chin implant surgery can enhance your appearance and your self confidence. Realistic expectations are important to be happy with any surgery. As each patient is an individual, different results can be expected in each patient.
Alternatives
Dermal filler and fat injections are increasingly being used as alternative to chin implants because of their lower cost and quicker recovery. Unfortunately they are not a good or equivalent alternative. Surgery on the chin bone itself to move it forward or backward as an alternative has lost favor because of the specialized equipment required, higher cost and longer recovery associated with cutting the chin bone.
Risks
As with any type of surgery there is the risk of infection, pain or bleeding that could necessitate removal of the implant(s). The infection rates are higher than for surgery on other body areas because of the bacteria present in the mouth if an intra-oral incision is used. If an implant is removed because of infection it should not be replaced for 3 to 6 months in order to allow sufficient time for the tissue to recover and lower the risk of recurrent infection. The risk of infection is minimized by antibiotics taken for the first few days after surgery and antiseptic oral rinses employed for the first few weeks after surgery.
An implant can shift in position or extrude over time.
Temporary loss of lower lip sensation can occur. Rarely this may be permanent.
The most common complication is patient dissatisfaction with implant size and/or position. In my experience patients who pick an implant size that they think would suffice almost always choose too large an implant and therefore have a high rate of dissatisfaction and/or complications. The best way to ensure you will be happy is to pick an implant size you think will work before surgery and then have a size smaller implant placed at surgery.
Benefits
The benefits are a more masculine or feminine appearance depending on the implant shape.
Recovery
Swelling for an indeterminate period. Much of the swelling will normally disappear in a few days but the remainder may require several weeks, or even months to disappear completely. Resolution of the swelling may be uneven resulting in temporary asymmetry. There may be discoloration (black and blue marks) on and about the face, for several days. In some cases the discoloration persists for considerably longer periods.
Ice compresses are applied for the first 24 hours to minimize swelling. You can place 3 wet washcloths in the freezer & serially apply them. Alternatively, a bag of frozen peas can be used as a compress.
Your head is kept elevated, no lying flat or head down position for 1 week. An ace wrap between the chin and vertex top of the head, worn for about a week, helps minimize swelling and keep the implant in position tight against the bone.
It is crucial that you eat soft foods and food cut into small pieces for the first 10 days if there are sutures inside your mouth. Eating large sandwiches or corn chips can disrupt the suture lines before they are healed exposing the implants, which routinely get infected when bathed by saliva.
No vigorous or strenuous physical activity is allowed for 2 weeks, even jogging at 1 week can cause a problem. Normal activities & work may be resumed within 3 weeks after the operation.
Dr. Aaron Stone
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9700 Venice BlvdCulver City, Los Angeles,CA 90232