What Is The Best Way To Solve My Chin Implant Complications?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had an intraoral large silicone chin implant placed about nine years ago and have had a lot of chin implant complications. am 31 years old now and since the beginning I got into a cycle of pain from chin swelling followed by tightness, numbness and itching sensations. Rare were the moments where my chin wasn´t swollen and pain free. The itching is basically in my right cheek. Four years ago I had a fibrosis inside this right part of my face and the doctor thought it was due to the tip of the implant so he had cut the cheek from the outside and cut the tip of the implant filling the hole left from the fibrosis with body fat. The appearance from the right cheek didn´t improve much and from then on I had to carry a scar from the procedure. About a year ago I had a fistula in the right gum that bleeds weekly. I´m terrified about the implant removal procedure been performed by the same doctor, the pain not going away due to eventual permanent nerve damage and bad looking chin appearance after removal. Do you know how to solve this by eliminating the pain and also leaving me with a good looking chin?

A: Chin implant complications of this magnitude are rare. I am not sure why you have such symptoms of itching and chronic pain but this long sequence of events suggests that the implant should be removed and your chin augmentation done with a sliding genioplasty. Moving the chin bone would eliminate any potential concerns about a foreign body in your chin and all the issues that have accompanied it. I would need to see some pictures of your chin for your further assessment but this does not sound like an implant salvageable situation.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana