What Type Of Jaw Angle Implants Do I Need?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I need your assistance with helping my doctor “get it right” when it comes to my jaw implants. Last year I had jaw angle implants placed which were lateral ones and they were the largest ones by Implantech. I then developed an infection on the right side and then I got one side taken out and then I was booked into have it reinserted two weeks later. However I found that although I loved the size of the implants it was the swelling that I enjoyed. So I asked my doctor when he put back the implant that I would like bigger implants. However he told me there were no larger sizes so what he did was simply place silicone block between the jaw bone and the current implant to push the jaw out more. Months passed and then I had another operation because what happened was that the silicone block was pushing out the contours on my cheeks and simply producing a very fat, large, round looking face. So the next operation involved cutting a portion of the implant between the jaw and cheekbone (near the ear) so that my face would ” dip in a bit”. I let that heal and now I’m still not happy with my jaw. Although it is okay I find that I never have reclaimed that lovely square contoured look I wanted when it was swollen from the first time I had it done.

So what my doctor has decided is to place Medpor instead of silicone during my next operation. He says that Medpor looks and feels more like bone and will produce a more better shape especially since i have thick soft tissues. He showed me the catalogue and i think the biggest one was 11mm. However I’m not sure if this time round it will work. I think my current implant combined with the silicone block is a lot bigger in width compared to the Medpor. Is Medpor better in my case? Will it give me more of a chiseled look? I’m concerned that my doctor isn’t looking into vertical augmentation as well.

A: When standard sized jaw angle implants are not sufficient because of their size or shape, trying to modify them or adding to them is usually not a satisfactory solution unless the changes needed are relatively minor. This is where the role of custom jaw angle or jawline implants have a very valuable role. Made from a patient’s 3D CT scan, implant dimensions can be made that best suits the patient rather than standard sizes that are made for ‘average’ amounts of facial augmentation.

Medpor does not look or feel more like bone than silicone. That is a completely false statement. More relevantly, any implant dimensions offered by Medpor are not really much different then silicone particularly in width.

Once you have been through two jaw angle implant surgeries with still unhappy results, you have to choose a different approach. Without taking a custom implant design approach, you would be best to leave what you have alone as continuing to use standard jaw angle implant sizes and shapes will still ‘not get it right’.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana