Can The Mental Nerve after Chin Implant Surgery Develop Into Chronic Pain?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a chin implant revision surgery 6 months ago. During the recovery, the nerve reaction on the right side is slightly weaker, causes no problem. I believe there should not be any nerve injury during the procedure. 

However, intermittent numbness and pain become more severe in the latest month. The implant was perfectly screwed and didn’t shift. I found one possible reason is that one side of the incision (denoted in green color in the attached photo) is close to the mental foramen. As the underlying scar grows, it may compress the mental nerve, which causes the pain and numbness (sometimes an itchy feeling). These feelings become stronger if I pressed the skin above the mental foramen. 

Could this develop into chronic pain? Is that possible to deal with this by nerve decompression surgery someday later? 

I’m looking forward to your reply!

A:It would be impossible to predict how the affected mental nerve may react as its distances itself from the date of the surgery. But at 6 months out from the surgery it would seem not very likely to develop into chronic pain if it has not done so already since the scar tissue has fully formed at this point.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana