Custom Facial Implants

Q: Dr. Eppley, I may be interested in custom facial implants in the future. But I have an unusual but relevant question about them. I have vertical orbital dystopia which makes my eye asymmetry pretty obvious. As far as I know, having consulted with some doctors in my area, correcting such an issue requires invasive craniofacial surgery and includes fixation with surgical plates around the orbital area and possibly the cheekbone. I’m not really sure I’m going to go through this operation in the future but in case I do, will it be able to have implants around my upper facial (supraorbital ridge, infraorbital rim implants, cheekbones) area ? To put it simply, can custom-made implants be created so they can fit over titanium plates connecting bones from a previous osteotomy? 

A: In designing custom facial implants, the exact location of the plates and screws will be visible on the bone on the 3D CT scan. Any implant design can be made to fit over them and their presence will not cause any design or implant insertion issues. In fact in some cases the location of the fixation devices can act as a locater for the exact position of the custom facial implant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana