Custom Facial Implants

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have some questions about custom facial implants.

1. How long is the standard recovery process after chin/jaw surgery? Is one week reasonable to plan? Please note, I´m not looking for an exact number of days, only an estimation.

2. The webpages you provided, while helpful in delineating different procedures, do not offer much insight into Dr. Eppley´s expertise vis-a-vis chin/jaw custom facial implants. Hence: how many of these surgeries does he perform per year?

3.  What is success rate of these procedures, purely in terms of patient satisfaction?

4.  How high/serious is the risk of infection or asymmetry?

5.  In the event of infection, does implant have to be removed? If so, will my stay have to be prolonged? Should the new surgery be required – who covers the new expenses?

A:  In answer to your questions in regards about custom facial implants:

1. It depends on how one defines recovery. Full recovery with all swelling gone will take a full six weeks. 50% of the swelling is gone by 10 days so a one week recovery would not be realistic in terms of appearance.

2. I perform over 100 semi-custom and custom facial implants per year, more than most any other surgeon in the world.

3. All of these procedures are successful. The better question is how many revisions are performed due to aesthetic concerns. (10% to 20%)

4. I have never seen an infection. Custom facial implants minimize the risk of asymmetry significantly..

5. The expenses of revisional surgery of custom facial implants, for whatever reason, are the responsibility of the patient.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana