Can You Make Me A Custom Jawline Implant That My Surgeon Can Put In?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am thinking about getting a custom jaw/chin implant. I think I have a small chin, vertically small jaw as well as narrow. Since I live in another city I can’t find any experienced surgeon. (or simply one I can’t trust) Would it be possible to get a CT scan done (of mandible and maxilla) and send it to you so you can build a wrap around jaw implant. How much would it cost excluding CT scan and the actual surgery? And then maybe I can find a surgeon in my city who can perform the actual surgery. I don’t want to get a genioplasty. Your help would be much appreciated.

A: Your assessment of your lower face is correct. Your entire jaw is vertically short from the chin back to the angles. Short of mandibular and/or chin osteotomies, a custom jawline implant that vertically extends the lower and chin is needed. That does require a 3-D CT scan which can be gotten in your city. It is then sent to a manufacturer to make a model of either just your lower jaw or your entire craniofacial skeleton. It is off of that model from which I can make a custom wraparound jawline implant. That design in your case is bigger in the chin area and tapers back because the length of your jaw angle is minimally deficient compared to your chin. I can certainly and the total cost to do it is $7500. (cost of model, fabrication and production and sterilization of implant) While you are certainly free to look around to find a surgeon who will place it, my guess is that won’t be easy because they have never seen an implant like that before and may be very uncomfortable (not to mention inexperienced) in its placement. It is not as simple as placing a standard chin implant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana