What Are The Risks Of Chin Augmentation?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am committed to undergoing chin augmentation with an implant but I am a little anxious. I just have a few questions. What do you see as the risks involved with a chin implant procedure, if any? Do your predictive photos mirror actual results? Thanks for taking the time to answer my nervous questions.

A:  In answer to your presurgical jitters:

1) There are always some risks with any surgery and chin implant augmentation is no exception. Fortunately those risks with chin implants are few and very low. The ones that I have observed are infection (1% to 2%) and asymmetry of the wings of the implant. (2% to 3%) Both are very correctable, albeit with a revisional surgery. There is always the risk of too little or too much chin augmentation with an improper size implant but that is not a very common problem in my experience.

2) Computer imaging is an estimate and not an exact predictor of the final outcome from any plastic surgery procedure. Its predictive ability varies based on the type of procedure being performed. Of all the facial cosmetic procedures, chin augmentation is one of the more accurate in terms of predicting the outcome as it is a profile or silhouette facial feature.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana