Can The Soft Tissue Chin Pad Be Heightened?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am wondering if it’s possible to “heighten” the mentalis fat pad and mentolabial fold, and shorten the sublabial subunit using fat grafts to create the look of a more robust, masculine chin. I’ve made this mock up in photoshop and am curious to hear your opinion on whether it is plausible to emulate with surgery or not. I am also curious to hear from you from an anatomical standpoint on what exactly causes the variations in it’s height & position. Is it the mentalis muscle insertion? Or is it just the fat distribution? Thank you!

A: I think your chin appears that way due to the soft tissue distribution of the chin pad.

To potentially achieve that type of change it would require a combination of an intraoral dermal-fat graft underneath the labiomental fold and external subcutaneous fat injections.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon