How Can The Chin Deformity After Implant Removal Be Fixed?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a chin implant done intra orally which gave me a strange double chin when I smiled. I had it removed 2 weeks later after the doctor told me removing it would make my chin go back to normal. My chin did not go back, it’s still deformed.

A: Intraoral chin implant placement is associated with a higher incidence of mentalis muscle deformity, particularly when the implant is removed if the muscle is not adequately resuspended/repositioned. In theory, a quick removal of an implant should not have allowed time for the overlying soft tissues to become stretched (past their elastic deformation state) and this is undoubtably what your surgeon meant by ‘it would go back to normal’. But that does not factor in the malposition of the muscle which it sounds like you have. Depending upon how long ago the chin implant removal was and what your chin looks like now, it may be improveable with a muscle resuspension procedure. Please send me some pictures at your convenience so I can see exactly the chin problem you now have.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana