Can I Lengthen My Jaw Angles Without Adding Width?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I did some filler injections to my jaw angles but am now considering a jaw angle implants for more definition, rather than injecting any more fillers. I’m interested in a conservative vertical jaw angle implant that increases drop, not width. I do not want lateral flare.  But I do like more definition and a sharper angle.

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. By definition while you can have vertical jaw angle lengthening you cannot do so without adding some width. You simply cannot hang an  implant off of the bottom edge of the ajw angle area. It must have a flange of a certain width that engages the bone above it to be able to be secured to it.

That being said are you a good candidate for such a jawline goal procedure??…. That may be questionable given your very thick tissues but I don’t think I can give a fair answer looking at two pictures in which you are smiling and they don’t really show  your jaw angle area in its native state. It would really take seeing some nonsmiling pictures in the front and side view.

What I do know is that, while you can achieve vertical jaw angle lengthening, does the trade-off of adding a little bit of with make that worthwhile or does it just cause another aesthetic concern. In your case there is a very precarious balance between trying to achieve vertical lengthening but without adding significant width that you may interpret as undesirable. My experience has been in in these delicate aesthetic balances there’s a 50% chance it is acceptable and an equal 50% chance that it is undesired.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon