Can A vertical Lengthening Chin Implant Be Bigger Than 7mms?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’ve been meaning to get a vertical lengthening chin implant and I’m looking for a 8 mm vertical increase. However, I think the biggest on-shelf VLC implant only provides 6 or 7 mm vertical increase. I was wondering if it is possible that a VLC implant can be customized to provide 8 mm vertical increase or is 7 mm the maximum?

A: There is a reason no standard chin implant exceeds 7mms in vertical length…as that is about the limit of how much the chin bone can be expanded by an implant and still get the soft tissue chin pad over the end of the implant during closure. Whether the additional 1mm of increase would be excessive is hard to predict before actually placing the implant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana