Facial Implants

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have some questions about facial implants. I want to improve the narrowness of my face. You have posted many articles on face widening, but it seems there are so many options. I am hesitant to simply stuff my face with implants to solve this problem. Particularly, I feel my temple area and zygomatic arch should go more laterally than they do, which may contribute to the narrowness. Would fat injections be a viable option here? Does the fat just reabsorb like many people say? I looked into submalar implants, but, again, I would hate to go down that road unless I had do. It also worries me that they are placed through the mouth when I’ve had issues with the chin already. Are they at least screwed in? Because my chin implant is not.

A: The options for facial widening are only facial implants, fat injections and injectable fillers. While fat injections can be done to create a facial widening effect, and there is certainly no harm in doing so, one has to be prepared to accept the unpredictability of both its survival and persistence.

Even compared to fat, temporal facial implants are so simple and effective that I would not even consider fat in that area as a first option.

Any cheek facial implants placed through the mouth are always secured into place with small microscrews so they will never be dislocated from their optimal placement.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana