Your Questions

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have always wanted to have a more defined, chiseled, sensual facial appearance and have been considering cheek, chin, and jaw implant along with rhinoplasty. However, I am wondering which one or which combination would be most beneficial aesthetically? Would any of these also help with the slight droopiness of my lower cheeks? Attached are examples of the characteristics I’m interested in and different angles of faces that I like.

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending the link to your pictures. There is no question that the single greatest procedure you could do would be a special jaw implant, a total jawline augmentation including the chin and jaw angles. That would best be done by a custom jawline implant, the single most powerful changer of the jawline. This would be followed by a close second for the rhinoplasty. While cheek augmentation would be helpful, it is a distant third compared to the jaw implant and rhinoplasty in having a significant impact towards your facial goals. It is also important to be aware that there is only a limited amount of facial change that is possible in anyone’s face and, while your pictures are helpful in understanding your basic objectives, you are never going to end up with those very well defined and angular facial features.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, the left side of my face is different from the right side. It seems to be missing jaw bone. Is it possible to even up my face with the jaw implants? I have attached a picture.

A: Thank you for sending your picture. It is not the best picture (from an angle standpoint) but it does show that you do have significant facial asymmetry which appears to affect the jawline the most. It would be optimal if I had some different picture angles of your face that had your chin more upward and not pointing down. But to provide some basic answers, some form of a jawline implant is needed. Whether this could be a done with a stock preformed implant or would be best done with a custom implant would require a little more in-depth information with some x-rays. At the minimum a panorex x-ray is needed, more ideally a 3D CT scan is best. That information will answer what type of implant is needed and how it would be done. Also, fat injections to fill out the overlying soft tissues is always needed as well as the facial asymmetry is caused by more than just a bone deficiency. Think of improving your facial asymmetry from the bony foundation underneath outward to the skin.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana