How Hard Is It To Remove An Old Chin Implant?

Q: Dr. Eppley, What easy is it to remove a chin implant I've had since 1993. It wraps halfway round my jaw and  the muscle appears loose or detached one side of my chin and now have TMJ on that side (jaw locking, clickling . pain). I've never liked the implant and looking at old photo I didn't need it. Its given me too strong of a jawline and a longer face.

A: Certainly after nearly twenty years you have a very good idea  of the benefit (or lack thereof) of a chin implant. Removal of an undesired chin implant is a lot easier than originally putting in. This is a simple extraction of an implant inside an existing pocket as opposed to creating a new pocket under the periosteum done during its original placement. This eliminates most of the pain, swelling and discomfort from the procedure. Because of the chin implant’s age, it undoubtably is silicone and not that big. You may think that it wraps halfway around the jawline but that would be very unusual in the early 1990s as so-called wrap around chin implants were not yet commercially available.

While removal of a chin implant is very straightforward, particularly with a silicone material, there is one consideration to look out for in its removal…a sagging chin pad or witch’s chin deformity afterward. This can occur when the implant is very large and provides a lot of support for the chin pad tissues. If this is a potential risk then the chin pad tissues will need to be resuspended at the time of implant removal to prevent this aesthetic complication.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana