Is Medpor Chin Implant Removal Difficult?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I recently had a 10 year-old Medpor chin implant shaved yielding poor results. I need to replace it and am worried about complications. How long will I be visibly swollen? Wondering how long until I am presentable. How difficult/risky is a Medpor remove/replace? Failure is not an option due to my job. While I hate my shaved implant, I cannot afford to risk a worse result. Is this a difficult as I think it is or would you consider this routine?

A: I have removed many Medpor facial implants and they are all removable despite their increased tissue adherence Their removal is usually equivalent to the swelling that occurred during their initial replacement…which I assume one would view as significant.  The question, which I assume is what you are referring to by ‘failure’, is what are you going to replace it with?  Will the replacement create an improved result? Failure certainly does not refer to an inability to get the implant out.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana