How Is A 3D Facial Implant Made?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a question about 3D-generated chin implants. I have read that a perfect implant can be created without the trial and error process through the Implantech company. When reading further I don’t know if it means it reproduces exactly what you have crafted or it reproduces a perfect chin implant based on the dimensions of the face. Could you please clarify?

A: a 3D or custom facial implant must be made off of a skeletal model, whether that is off of a 3D CT scan or an actual hand-held model that is made from a CT scan. Either way, the implant is made based on the surgeon’s specifications/dimensions and it is ‘perfect’ because it matches exactly what the surgeon envisions. It is not perfect because the computer or its software have some method of knowing how to make an implant that would look the best based on how the patient’s face looks or its dimensions.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana