What Do You Recommend For My Chin Implant Revision?

Q: I am interested in getting either a new chin implant or modifying the one I have. I had a Medpor contoured two-piece chin implant with 7mm (medium) projection placed about one year ago. While I like how much projection it has given and its front shape, I feel it is not adequate as it goes around the side of my mouth below the corners. I would like it fuller in this area but I don’t want a square chin implant shape either. I still want it contoured. What do you recommend?

A:I have taken a careful look at your existing chin implant’s dimensions and your desire for more lateral fullness as the implant crosses a vertical line below the corner of the mouth. In most patients that is going to be about 30 to 35mms from the midpoint of the chin back along the jawline. Your current implant has a thickness of about 4.9 mms (.7 of total 50mm wing length x 7mm central thickness) in this area as it tapers posteriorly. Switching to a larger projecting implant (9mms) will only make about a 1mm difference (5.7mm) in this prejowl area. A different style chin implant of the same central projection will not produce any larger fullness in this area. (4.5mms) Therefore, it is my advice to not consider changing the implant as no current chin implants styles make for increased fullness in this area without adding more horizontal projection. One option to consider, which is actually easier, is to keep the existing chin implant and place ‘shims’ underneath the implant in these areas. Shims are wedges of cut material that are slid underneath the indwelling implant that can provide more fullness to the implant in this area than it otherwise has. Since you have a Medpor implant, I would use double-stacked 1.5mm shims to accomplish this implant modification.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana