Jaw Implant Augmentation

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m interested in jaw implant augmentation and am hoping you can point me in the right path. I’m not from the US and love your work but I would feel more comfortable with a surgeon a bit more closer to home.

There’s only 2 surgeons in my country that provide custom implants. One surgeon is on the other side of the country and is trained in oralmaxillofacial surgery as well as plastic surgery. The other surgeon is within 90 minutes of where I live and background is mainly in oral maxillofacial surgery. Their use is for aesthetic purposes after corrective jaw surgeries but can also be used for primary augmentation purposes.

I understand that the experience of the doctor and work examples and having that good connection is key. But would it be safe for someone not trained in plastic surgery and plastic surgery aesthetics to perform augmentations for areas such as the jaw?

A: The direct answer to your question is the surgeon’s specific training (plastic surgery vs. oral maxillofacial surgery) is not as important as their experience in performing this very specialized type of facial surgery. If they do not have extensive experience in the designing and placement of custom facial implants the complication rates are high regardless of their surgical speciality.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana