Can My Jaw Implants Be Removed and Replaced At The Same Time?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I currently have separate Medpor chin and jaw angle implants. I also understand that you do custom facial implants using a person’s CT scans. My question is, assuming that I would like them replaced with a custom one-piece total jawline implant further down the road, would I have to remove the current implants before proper modeling can be done, or will you still be able to customize the jawline implant with the current implants still in place? Also, would the removal of these Medpor implants be possible? I’ve been to your blog and I understand that you’ve always stated that Medpor removal is possible, but hearing many other surgeons claim that it is impossible makes me a little afraid. Anyway, my preference would be to have the removal of the existing implants and placement of the new implants done together, as it would mean one surgery only. Regardless. kindly let me know what my options are.

A: The answers to your questions are as follows:

1) You can have CT imaging done with your Medpor implants in place. Medpor implants are not picked up especially well by CT scans and they do not appear in the images.

2) Your Medpor implants can be successfully removed, I have done it many times. They are not nearly as easy as silicone to remove but far from impossible to do so.

3) Removal of your existing jaw implants and their replacement would be done during the same surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana