Will My Misshapen Chin After A Medpor Chin Implant Removal Require Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, ! I had a 7 mm medpor implant placed 4 months ago. I immediately knew that it was too big and begged my surgeon to remove it at 2.5 weeks post op. I did not want to wait 3 months for the results as I was certain I would have it removed and I was afraid that the longer it was in the harder it would be for the tissue to return to its pre-op shape. He refused to remove it and insisted that there would be no harm in waiting. I sought out other surgeons in my country to have it removed, but he was the only one that could do it and so I had to wait. 

3 months later I had it removed. I asked him beforehand if it was necessary to do muscle re-suspension/soft tissue management, but he said no. He believed that it would just snap back to how it looked before. 

Well, I am now 1 month post op and I think it looks pretty bad. I know I am still swollen, but my chin pad squares off when smiling and sort of “hangs”. I have a hard time believing that it will just fix itself like he promised. I haven’t been able to get in contact with my own surgeon (and frankly I don’t trust him anymore), so I was hoping that you could tell me if this was normal or if I might need another surgery to fix it? 

A:Time will provide the ultimate answer to the question of whether the soft tissue sequelae from the Medpor chin implant removal will need to be addressed. It would be fair to say that the chin pad soft tissues just ‘snapping back into place like before’ was never a realistic outcome as the osteocutaneous ligaments have been released to place the implant. It is more likely than not that what you are seeing now will not significantly improve. But the soft tissues do need to heal more and fully relax before any secondary management is done which should not the considered before 3 to 4 months after the implant removal if not longer.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World Renowned Plastic Surgeon