Medpor Chin Implant Removal

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in Medpor chin implant removal. I had a Medpor chin implant placed over 10 years ago and I really hate it. It is too big and is not in line (literally) with my overall facial features. Moreover, the implant is visible when I smile. While my profile looks pretty good, the look of my face from the front is what bothers me. I would probably prefer to have the implant removed without another implant being placed. Would that be possible without serious droopiness of chin tissue? The chin implant used was the smallest one available and it has been carved down already. It has been fixated with 2 screws. Question for you (since I have read on the internet that you are experienced in successfully removing medpor implants) is whether or not you consider this procedure to be possible in my case and if you are willing to help?Would you require a CT scan of my jaw prior to surgery? Thank you so much for your time and I hope that you are willing to answer my questions and hopefully help out.

A: Thank your for your inquiry about Medpor chin implant removal. I have removed many Medpor facial implants including Medpor chin implants. The key question is not whether it can be removed but whether any other management should be done to the chin given the expansion of the soft tissue pad. While it may have been a small Medpor chin implant , these implants are still relatively large. Thus its removal poses a very real risk of chin ptosis. This leaves you with three treatment options:

Simply remove the chin implant and see what happens.

Remove the Medpor chin implant and replace with with a smaller and much more narrow chin implant.

Remove the implant and perform either a mentalis muscle resuspension (if it was initially done intraorally) or a submental tuck. (if performed from below through a submental incision.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana