Sliding Genioplasty for Chin Augmentation

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want like to have a sliding genioplasty to bring the chin forward to balance my facial profile. I also thought of another option to have a solid hydroxyapatite chin implant (not paste) with hydroxyapatite screws, is this possible? I have some questions.

-How long does a sliding genioplasty take to perform?

-How much projection can be achieved with a genioplasty?

-I understand that it is not necessary, but I want to remove the metal plates some time down the line and have any irregularities smoothed out if there are any.

-Can bone removed from my ridge reduction and used for a bone graft to place where there would otherwise be a step to add better form to the new chin?

A: In answer to your sliding genioplasty questions:

1) It takes one hour to perform a sliding genioplasty.

2) How much horizontal projection can be achieved depends on the thickness of the chin bone. But, on average, 10mm to 12mms can be obtained if not more in a male.

3) You can have the metal plate and screws removed 6 months after the surgery when the bone is well healed.

4) Bone grafts from the tibia can be used to fill in the step of your sliding genoplasty if desired. This would be a good use of ‘recycling’ of the removed bone from the tibia.

5) Making a chin implant out of hydroxyapatite is not possible as no U.S. manufacturer will do so. But even if it were possible, such a chin implant would be fairly brittle and hard to place due to its stiffness.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana