Paranasal Implants

Q: Dr. Eppley, I was hoping to also ask you about paranasal implants.  You are the only doctor I know of that does this surgery and I would be very interested to know if you think I might benefit from this?  I have always disliked how the line between lips and the base of my nose recedes backwards.  I have read a lot online about the maxilla bone and how this can grow forwards or down.  My impression is faces are more attractive when the maxilla grows forward but mine seems to have grown down giving me a flatter face, but the surgery for shifting if forwards seems too serious for surgeons to do it for cosmetic reasons.  Therefore I was very interested to read that you can place an implant in this area.  Do you think this would work for me in addition to the other surgery we discussed?

A: In regards to midface augmentation at the paranasal level, you certainly have the face for it, meaning augmentation in this area of your faces would be aesthetically advantageous. Short of moving the teeth and upper lip forward, paranasal-maxillary augmentation (the proper term actually) creates the same effect as a LeFort 1 osteotomy advancement.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana