Chin Augmentation Options

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m seeking your opinion on my chin, neck and jaw. I’m open to all options. My chin is further back than it should be. I would like to know the pros and cons of the sliding genioplasty operation. I would also like to know if the simpler silicone chin implant would give me good results in your professional opinion.

A: Thank you for sending your facial pictures. With a chin deficiency of close to 9 or 10mms, both a chin implant and a sliding genioplasty will offer improvement as assessed in the side view. They probably can’t be differentiated from that viewpoint. But from the fontal and oblique views is where they will be aesthetically different. A sliding genioplasty will usually narrow the chin as it comes forward particularly in the prejowl area. Conversely a chin implant will widen the chin with the increased horizontal projection. In addition a sliding genioplasty can make the chin vertically longer if desired while most chin implants can not. These aesthetic differences in their chin augmentation effects need to be considered for a true 3D chin augmentation surgery.

There is also the consideration of how one feels about an indwelling implant vs using one’s own bone for the surgery. Unlike the logical aspects of their different aesthetic effects this consideration is emotional and personal but may be of no less importance in this decision between the two chin augmentation options.

Lastly, chin augmentation no matter how it is done does not affect the back part of the jaw, only its front part.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana