Do I Need To Have My Chin and Jaw Angle Implants Removed Before Getting a 3D CT Scan for a Custom Jawline Implant?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’ve had mandible augmentation (angle of the mandible)with Medpor and a chin implant with silicone. The chin implant seems a bit off and small. And I was expecting my jaw to be wider, more striking, yet instead, it is just longer vertically, and makes me look much chubbier. Would I need to have everything removed before a CT scan? How much would removal be, and an estimate of your 3D custom implant cost/timeframe? Thanks so much, I really don’t feel myself, and when the masseter is contracted the bulge is higher.

A: Thank you for your custom jawline implant inquiry.  There are multiple styles of Medpor jaw angle implants and it is hard to say but your own description what style you have implanted. That would be important to know before any further surgery and the best way to get that information is from your prior surgeon. They would be able to tell you what style, size and catalog number it is. Knowing what shape and size an implant is and what the resultant external shape it creates is very useful information when contemplating how a new implant design may produce a better more desired result.

It is not necessary to remove any of the implants before getting a 3D CT scan. The existing implants will be seen in the scan and then digitally removed when designing a new custom implant.

It generally takes 4 to 6 weeks to design a custom jawline implant and have it ready for surgery.

Lastly what you have is masseteric muscle dehiscence and subsequent retraction, an aesthetic problem in jaw angle implant surgery that is difficult to fix. Several treatment options are available to try and mitigate the lack of soft tissue thickness over the implanted jaw angle area.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana