Custom Facial Implants

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have some questions about custom facial implants. I have attached a frontal shot of my face in harsh bright lighting. I have also attached a side profile shot along with an adjusted “goal” image of what I would like my profile to resemble. I have also attached a picture of a famous actor who has an incredibly angular and well defined jaw. It would be my dream to have a jaw like his. Is it achievable? My budget is considerable. My primary aim is to get rid of my round face front on and have something square and angular both in the chin and jaw angle regions.

I am also interested in what parts of my face are lacking and how I can improve it aesthetically. What are your thoughts, I’m open to suggestions. I seem to have quite a round face despite being low in body fat (my abs are visible and I have a “four pack”). I’m puzzled by what I need to enhance to get the look I desire. Is my lack of facial bone structure causing poor tissue distribution or is my poor tissue distribution hiding my bone structure. Interested in your thoughts and potential solutions, I like your intelligent approach that I’ve been reading in your blog.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures and describing your aesthetic goals. In reality you do not really have a round face. It may appear that way to you and is not to your liking but it is certainly not round. Your face is thin and you have decent facial bone structure. What you lack is the bone structure to get the ‘supernormal’ look you desire. With the right cheek and jawline implant designs such facial changes that you seek are possible. That type of facial change can really only be achieved in someone with a thinner face where the enhanced skeletal projections created by custom facial implants become more evident externally.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana