What Type Of Cheek Implants Do I Need?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have had rhinoplasty, Medpor jaw angle implants (11mm projection) and silicone chin implant (medium 7mm). But I want a stronger look that is more masculine. I  also want cheek augmentation and I want a stronger chin. But the biggest chin implant I can find only gives 8mm horizontal projection so I’m considering a sliding genioplasy to have both horizontal and vertical augmentation. For the cheek implants iIm considering Design M Malar Implants from Medpor, I think they’re more anatomic than silicone ones, and also Medpor ones augment from zygomatic arch to the cheek bone which I think will give a stronger and masculine look. I would like to know which size would you recommend me to use. (4.5mm or 7mm) so they would look proportional to my jaw angle implants (11mm) I read in the internet that when you use facial implants, you have to consider the soft tissue augmentation that is different from the size of the implant… for example if you have a chin implant with 10mm projection…you’ll end up only with 7mm in soft tissue projection. So if I have cheek implants size of 4.5mm I’ll end up with 3mm augmentation, but if I have the 7mm ones,, I’ll end up with 4.9mm, So i don’t know which ones to use. I read in your blog that when it comes to cheek augmentation you should not over do this specific part because you will look unnatural. I definitely don’t want that. But also I have read that the cheek or zygomatic bone should be bigger than jaw angle.

A: I would take exception with your supposition that there is not a 1:1 correlation with the translation of implant thickness to how much change is seen on the outside. When it comes to any form of jawline augmentation, it is pretty much a 1:1 correlation. In the cheeks it is most commonly a 0.8:1 ratio. However the thickness of the soft tissues in any patient is so variable that no absolute implant size to external change seen can be generalized. Thus I would always assume it is a 1:1 relationship through the skeletal structure of the face. This would be true in my opinion given your relatively thin face.

I would also point out that a little bit in the cheeks goes a long way so I would be careful about going too big here. It is very easy to end up with cheek implants that are too big. Thus, I would lean towards the 4.5mm implants as opposed to the 7mm thick cheek implants.

Lastly, you can certainly do a sliding genioplasty using/keeping the existing chin implant in place  getting the dual benefits of both techniques. However be aware as the slidinjg genioplasty moves forward and down there will be a slimming.narrowing effect on the chin. Thus if you want to end with a more square chin look than you have now, the chin implant should be switched to a square design or even a more square one and not a rounder anatomic style.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana