Is This Normal For One Week After Chin Implant Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m a huge fan of your work and website, and I think I should have come to you in the first place. 

I’ve had a chin implant from outside the mouth done 7 days ago by a doctor in Beverly Hills, and I have problems with my smile. 

I can’t pull down the lip on either side. I can feel everything on both lips and chin, but I simply cannot lower the lip for normal function. (i’ve attached photos of me trying to smile, and of me moving the lip otherwise which is not impaired) 

I’ve seen you have an article on mentalis function. Can I come in and see you for a consult? I’ll gladly pay for the consult. Restoring my normal lip function is my top priority and i’m considering removal of the implant. Whatever is most likely to return normal muscle function!

A: Being only 7 days out from chin implant surgery what you are experiencing does not look uncommon. You have to remember that you put a space-occupying mass right under all of the chin tissues for which the soft tissue cover of the chin was not initially designed to accommodate. Thus it takes time between the swelling and the relaxation of the tissues for the function of the lower lip to work properly. This will be an issue for which time, and the full recovery from chin implant augmentation surgery is a 6 to 8 week one, to fully recover. Short of taking the implant you are not going to expedite the time course of this recovery process. While I can no guarantee your lower lip will fully recover I see no treason it would not and have not seen one that doesn’t.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana