Do I Need A Chin Implant Revision Or Just Have It Removed?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I need with a chin implant revision or a chin implant removal.  I had a chin implant done about 10 months ago and I am still experiencing numbness and a slightly crooked smile on the left side. The most alarming part is that smile does not “go down” as much as it used to. My smile feels tight and almost like I am fighting against my chin to smile. Am I just still recovering from the numbness or should I get it removed? I liked my smile before and now it is too small and strained looking…I have a round face and sometime’s I think the implant makes it look rounder (and not thinner/ more defined which is what I wanted). My entire lower left side was numb after surgery so it has come back significantly…but still so slow in 10 months. Do you have any suggestions?

A: You are describing symptoms of a chin implant that is too ‘big’. The feeling of tightness in the chin and the stiffness from it is either due to a very tight pocket or an implant that is a little too big for the tissues. The fact that your chin looks rounder also indicated that it is ill-shaped for a female which should have more of a triangular-shape and not rounded like the implant that is in there. Given that you had the chin augmentation procedure for a reason, I would suggest a chin implant revision rather than a chin implant removal. The implant needs to removed, reshaped and then repositioned rather than just throwing away the entire effort. You did not say which way the chin implant was put in (intraoral vs. submental) but I am going to guess it was placed intraorally which can often be a source of these type of symptoms.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana