Can I Get A Large Angular Jawline Implant?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am contacting with regards to my request for a virtual consultation.With this message I want to outline my concerns/expectations in detail since that wasn’t possible with the other form. 

1) My primary wish is to improve the lower third of my face (chin, jaw). By that I mean: 

a. Making it more massive, increase it’s overall size. My lower face should take up a bigger portion of my face. I have gained a lot of muscle mass these past years (and some fat mass as well). Also I am about 6’2. That means I am a really big guy and my face doesn’t quite match that (it’s not narrow or rescinded, it is about average and that’s no longer enough). My jaw needs to be much wider and have a wider angle. Also my chin needs some more projection. That way my lower face would fit in better with my overall physique. It is very important to me that the surgery does not end up being barely visible, it should be clearly noticeable, ie the implants have to be massive enough. I found several great before-after improvements in your photo gallery “Custom Facial Implants” that we should perhaps lean on for my own implants. Those are the transformations of patients “1”, “2”, “48”, “54” and “56”. 

b. Making it more defined, more “chiseled”. A big part of this could be simply decreasing my overall body fat percentage though. Perhaps neck liposuction could be helpful as well since I definitely have a certain fat pad below my chin. 

c. Add either a cleft or dimple to my chin. This is purely a preference of mine and I believe the facial implants are a great opportunity to check that off my list too. 

2) Another goal of mine is to improve on my facial (a)symmetry. I don’t know exactly how to achieve more symmetry, I guess the facial implants are one way, maybe they are other procedures to improve symmetry as well that you could inform me on. 

A: Thank you for your inquiry and detailing your objectives to which I can say the following:

1) How large any facial implant can be is a function of the soft tissue tolerances to which is placed underneath them. Thus there are limits which must be made on an individual basis.

2) Chin clefts and dimples do not come from indentations in the bone. Therefore putting those features into an implant design will not necessarily make it appear on the outside. These are soft tissue muscle defects which, in large chin/jaw implants, may not be wise to do since this requires thinning out the soft tissue over them.

3) Whether midface (cheek) implants may be necessary for facial balance/proportion with a larger lower third jawline implant augmentation will require computer imaging to assess.

4) At age 20/21  99% of your lower jaw growth is over so there are no concerns with implant placement.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana