What To Expect After Chin Implant Surgery

What To Expect After Chin Implant Surgery

If you want to enhance your appearance and gain the self-assurance you deserve, consider getting a chin implant. Even though getting a chin implant is quite popular, there are a few things you need to know first.

After Getting a Chin Implant, What to Expect After getting chin implants, the most obvious side effect is swelling. This will be most obvious in your cheeks and jaw. As a result of having your mouth muscles partially paralyzed to reduce bleeding, you may find it difficult to eat and speak for a few days after surgery. Asymmetry, in which one side of your face seems more swollen than the other as your body heals following surgery, is normal and should go away within about three weeks. You may find it difficult to use makeup for a few weeks following surgery because of bruising or soreness in or around your lips or chin.

Due to their unique anatomy, Asian patients have different expectations from facial plastic surgery. One of the most common questions I am asked is: “What can I expect after chin implant surgery?” This article talks about what to expect when you get your chin implants. Read on to learn more on Chin Implant Swelling Timeline/chin implant side effects.

Chin augmentation is surgery to reshape or enhance the size of the chin. It may be done either by inserting an implant or by moving or reshaping the jaw bones.

What To Expect After Chin Implant Surgery

The mandible, or lower jaw, determines much of the facial profile and the alignment of the upper and lower teeth. The teeth must be properly aligned for a normal dental bite.

Description

Surgery may be performed in the surgeon’s office, a hospital, or an outpatient clinic.

You may have x-rays taken of your face and chin. The surgeon will use these x-rays to find out what part of the chin to operate on.

When you need only an implant to round out the chin:

• You may be under general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free). Or, you may get medicine to numb the area, along with a medicine that will make you relaxed and sleepy.
• A cut is made, either inside the mouth or outside under the chin. A pocket is created in front of the chin bone and under the muscles. The implant is placed inside.
• The surgeon may use real bone or fat tissue, or an implant made out of silicone, Teflon, Dacron, or newer biological inserts.
• The implant is often attached to the bone with stitches or screws.
• Sutures are used to close the surgical cut. When the cut is inside the mouth, the scar can barely be seen.

The surgeon may also need to move some bones:

• You will likely be under general anesthesia.
• The surgeon will make a cut inside your mouth along the lower gum. This gives the surgeon access to the chin bone.
• The surgeon uses a bone saw or chisel to make a second cut through the jaw bone. The jaw bone is moved and wired or screwed in place with a metal plate.
• The cut is closed with stitches and a bandage is applied. Because the surgery is performed inside your mouth, you will not see any scars.
• The procedure takes between 1 and 3 hours.

Chin augmentation is commonly done at the same time as a nose job (rhinoplasty) or facial liposuction (when fat is removed from under the chin and neck).

Surgery to correct bite problems (orthognathic surgery) can be done at the same time as chin surgery.

Why the Procedure Is Performed

Chin augmentation is mostly done to balance the appearance of the face by making the chin longer or bigger compared to the nose. The best candidates for chin augmentation are people with weak or receding chins (microgenia), but who have a normal bite.

Talk with a plastic surgeon if you are considering chin augmentation. Keep in mind that the desired result is improvement, not perfection.

Risks

The most common complications of chin augmentation are:

• Bruising
• Movement of the implant
• Swelling

Other possible complications include:

• Damage to the teeth
• Loss of feeling

Rare side effects include:

• Blood clots
• Infection, sometimes the implant will have to be removed
• Pain that does not go away
• Numbness or other changes in feeling to the skin

Although most people are happy with the outcome, poor cosmetic results that may need more surgery include:

• Wounds that do not heal well
• Scarring
• Unevenness of the face
• Fluid that collects under the skin
• Irregular skin shape (contour)
• Movement or infection of the implant
• Incorrect implant size

Smoking can delay healing.

After the Procedure

You will feel some discomfort and soreness. Ask your doctor what kind of pain medicine you should use.

You may feel some numbness in your chin for up to 3 months, and a stretching sensation around your chin for 1 week. Most of the swelling will be gone by 6 weeks, depending on the type of procedure you had.

You might have to stick to a liquid or soft diet for at least a day or two.

You will probably have the outside bandage removed within a week of surgery. You may be asked to wear a brace while you are sleeping for 4 to 6 weeks.

You can resume light activity the day of surgery. You should be able to return to work and your usual activities within 7 to 10 days. Your health care provider will give you specific instructions.

Outlook (Prognosis)

If the cut was made under the chin, the scar should not be very noticeable.

Most implants last for a lifetime. Sometimes, implants made from bone or fat tissue that was taken from your body may be reabsorbed.

Because you may have some swelling for months, you might not see the final appearance of your chin and jaw for 3 to 4 months.

Chin Implant Swelling Timeline

You may feel some numbness in your chin for up to 3 months, and a stretching sensation around your chin for 1 week. Most of the swelling will be gone by 6 weeks, depending on the type of procedure you had. You might have to stick to a liquid or soft diet for at least a day or two.

A chin implant can help enhance a small or receding chin and add definition and contour to your lower face, profile and jawline. Most people get chin implants for cosmetic reasons, but sometimes, the surgery can help reconstruct your face. A plastic surgeon makes a cut in your skin, inserts the implant and molds it to your chin bone to achieve a natural, balanced look.

Other names for chin implant surgery are chin augmentation (enlargement) or chin enhancement.

Do chin implants come in different materials and sizes?

Chin implants are usually made out of silicone, a flexible, artificial substance. Sometimes, implants are made from bone, but these aren’t as common. Implants come in different shapes, sizes and styles. Your surgeon selects the best type for your needs and aesthetic goals.

Who gets chin implants?

Anyone concerned about a small or recessed chin may consider chin implants. A recessed chin is when your chin doesn’t stick out far enough from your face. From the side, your chin isn’t in proportion with the lines of your forehead, nose and other features.

People who’ve had trauma to their face, such as a facial fracture or tumor removal, might also consider and benefit from a chin implant.

A chin implant might be part of or in addition to other surgeries, such as:

• Double chin surgery.
• Facelift (rhytidectomy).
• Facial masculinization surgery.
• Facial reconstruction surgery.
• Genioplasty (chin augmentation).
• Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping).

The ideal candidate for chin implant surgery is someone who:

• Doesn’t have a jaw disorder, jawbone deformity or very short chin height.
• Doesn’t smoke.
• Has reached full skeletal maturity (bone growth is complete; late adolescence).
• Has realistic expectations about the results of chin implant surgery.
• Is physically healthy.

Chin implant vs. filler vs. fat grafting: What’s the difference?

A chin implant isn’t the only way to add definition to your chin and jawline. You may be able to have dermal fillers or fat grafting:

• Chin filler: Dermal fillers are injections of hyaluronic acid or another substance just beneath your skin. They add volume to your face. Fillers may enhance the look of a small chin or smooth wrinkles around your chin and jawline. Fillers are nonsurgical and fade over time.
• Chin fat grafting: A plastic surgeon performs liposuction (procedure to remove fat using suction) on another area of your body (usually your belly or thighs). Then, they inject the fat into your chin. Fat grafting is a minimally invasive procedure.

PROCEDURE DETAILS

How can I prepare for chin implant surgery?

Your healthcare provider will give you instructions on how to prepare for chin implant surgery. You may need lab tests and a physical exam to make sure you’re in good health. If you smoke, you should quit smoking several weeks before the procedure.

Your healthcare provider may also ask you to stop taking certain medications before chin implant surgery. Let them know about any medications you take, including aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs or herbal supplements. They may ask you to start taking antibiotics before surgery to reduce the risk of infection.

Your healthcare provider might take photos of your chin and side profile before surgery. Photos help your surgeon plan your procedure and compare before and after results.

What happens during chin implant surgery?

During chin implant surgery, your care team and surgeon:

• Give you local anesthesia, sedation or general anesthesia, depending on the length and complexity of your procedure.
• Make an incision on the inside of your mouth, in the crease of your lower lip. In some cases, the incision may be on the outside of your chin.
• Use special tools to move skin, fat and tissue aside. The surgeon inserts the implant and molds it to the shape of your chin bone to achieve a natural look.
• Close the incision using dissolvable stitches or glue.
• Apply a bandage and antibiotic ointment.

What happens after chin implant surgery?

Depending on the complexity of your surgery, you may be able to go home the same day as your procedure. Less often, people stay in the hospital overnight. Your surgeon will give you specific instructions about how to care for your incision.

“Beauty is pain,” as the saying goes — but modern cosmetics experts are proving that beauty can relieve pain rather than causing it. Surgeons have found that brow lifts can alleviate migraines, thanks to a few key elements of the surgery. Migraine headaches affect millions of Americans each year, according to the Migraine Research Foundation, and up to 90% of migraine sufferers experience pain severe enough to affect normal functions like driving, working or conversing. In addition, migraines are a chronic illness; that is, they don’t simply strike once fleetingly, but those who struggle with migraines experience them on a recurring basis and even for days at a time. There is also no known cure for migraine headaches. While there are some preventive measures as well as medications that can help manage the pain of a migraine flare-up, many people struggle to find a solution to keep their headaches at bay.

WHAT IS BROW LIFT SURGERY?

Brow lifts, sometimes called forehead lifts or upper facelifts, focus on diminishing the appearance of wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes. These surgeries can address horizontal forehead lines, worry lines between the brows and crow’s feet. They are also commonly combined with eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, to correct sagging or drooping eyelids. Depending on the extent of your lines and wrinkles, your surgeon can perform brow lift surgery using one of three techniques: an endoscopic brow lift, a temporal brow lift or a coronal brow lift.

Endoscopic brow lifts have become increasingly popular in recent years because they are the least invasive option. Your surgeon uses small incisions through which they insert a thin, flexible tool with a small camera attached — they can view and manipulate the tissues underlying the skin of your brow without lifting the skin completely.

Temporal brow lifts involve slightly larger incisions than endoscopic lifts, positioned at the edges of the temples. This type of lift is the current industry standard for clients who require more work than an endoscopic lift can accomplish, and is usually the type of brow lift performed when a client is interested in an eyelid surgery as well.

Coronal brow lifts are the most invasive, using an incision that spans the full length of the brow from temple to temple along the hairline. This technique is somewhat outmoded and is currently only used in special cases.

No matter which type of brow lift is right for you, there is one distinguishing factor — unlike full facelifts, which often focus on removing stretched or excess skin causing an aged appearance, brow lifts focus on facial muscles. The main cause of forehead wrinkles is overworked facial muscles; when you make a certain facial expression particularly often, your muscles will become somewhat stuck in their tensed position, leaving behind the furrows or crinkles of a worried look or squint. During a brow lift, your surgeon removes and repositions some of your brow muscles to release this tension and smooth your brow to a more youthful, relaxed position.

UNDERSTANDING MIGRAINES

Migraines aren’t like the headaches you get when you’re tired or dehydrated. They are characterized by intense, throbbing pain that often results in nausea; sensitivity to sounds, smells and light; dizziness and even temporary sight impairment. While the pulsing pain initially led doctors to believe that migraines were caused by dysfunctional blood vessels, today’s understanding is that migraines are primarily neurological. The sensory effects of migraine attacks suggest that the headaches stem from the brain and nerves, and indeed, the most common and often effective medications for migraines treat the headaches using this principle.

Brain scans of patients experiencing migraines show a burst of activity in parts of the brainstem, an area known for processing mood and pain. In addition, a network of neurons responsible for transmitting pain around the eyes, teeth, forehead and sinuses are particularly active during a migraine. Scientists also believe that this particular network of nerves releases inflammatory chemicals as a response to specific stimuli, which contributes to the throbbing and puts even more sensory pressure around areas already sensitive from a migraine.

HOW A BROW LIFT CAN HELP

The nerves associated with migraines are located in the same areas as the muscles that cause forehead wrinkles. The added tension in the forehead not only makes migraine pressure worse but can even start to pinch some of the facial nerves and trigger migraines more frequently. When your surgeon uses a brow lift to release or remove these tensed muscles and open up more space in the tissues of the forehead, the nerves in the area are also freed from constriction and are less likely to cause shooting migraine pain.

Research also shows that minor muscle tension in the brow can cause non-migraine headaches or generalized forehead and temple pain, only serving to worsen the symptoms of migraines. Restoring relaxation to your upper face with a brow lift can go a long way toward relieving that daily dull ache as well as the debilitating discomfort of a migraine. The brow lift’s effectiveness at smoothing unwanted lines and wrinkles combined with its tension-relief benefits gives this cosmetic surgery the ability to improve your life in more ways than one — the confidence of a reflection you love and the relief of reduced head pain and tension.

Despite the apparent benefits, opinions are mixed amongst plastic surgeons, as well as The American Board of Plastic Surgery. For those reasons, we do not perform brow lifts to help treat migraines, but your primary physician can provide you with more comprehensive information about if this procedure has the potential to help you.

Chin Implant Side Effects

• Bleeding.
• Bruising.
• Burning or prickling sensation.
• Erosion or resorption of your chin bone.
• Hair loss near the incision (if the incision is on the outside of your chin).
• Implant extrusion (implant pokes through the incision).
• Implant rejection.
• Infection.

A brow lift is usually performed by a plastic surgeon.

A brow lift is an aesthetic surgical procedure to correct the loss of soft tissue elasticity in the upper third of the face. Excess sagging skin around the forehead causing drooping (ptosis) of the brows and wrinkling of the forehead is removed by repositioning the underlying muscle and tissue. It creates a more refreshed, youthful appearance in the upper third area of the face. It can also be combined with a facelift. A brow lift is usually performed by a plastic surgeon.

Endoscopy is the insertion through a surgical incision of a flexible tube with a lighted camera and surgical instruments. The endoscope is now used in a variety of reconstructive and cosmetic surgical procedures. Endoscopic brow lift surgery has gained widespread acceptance, is minimally invasive, and heals faster than traditional brow lift surgery.

Why do people seek endoscopic brow lift surgery?

Aesthetically, the face is divided into three equal parts, of which the forehead (from the top of the eyebrow to the anterior hairline) occupies the upper third. In males this area averages 7 cm and in females it averages 5 cm.

The male eyebrow is less arched than the female eyebrow. The top of the eyebrow lies approximately 2.5 cm from the mid pupil.  With aging, these parameters may shift. A lesser distance denotes eyebrow drooping (ptosis).

Loss of forehead skin elasticity from genetics, sun damage, and gravity causes eyebrow drooping, with resultant upper eyelid drooping and dissatisfaction with the appearance.

Aging causes depletion of the subcutaneous fat. This leads to forehead wrinkling, the direction of which depends upon the underlying muscle.

Why is endoscopic brow lift surgery done?

• Aged appearance: Patients may worry they have a tired, surprised, worried, or an annoyed look, appearing older than their actual age
• Eyebrow drooping: Patients may feel an uncomfortable weight of tissue on their eyes
• Forehead wrinkling
• Eyebrow elevation
• Improve eyebrow symmetry
• Change eyebrow shape
• Decrease the function of muscles causing brow wrinkling

When should endoscopic brow lift surgery be avoided?

Endoscopic brow lift surgery should be avoided with:

• Conditions causing dry eyes
• Excessive brow elevation after upper eyelid surgery
• A tendency for keloids or thick scarring
• Psychological instability
• Unrealistic cosmetic expectations
• Poor general health and systemic conditions

What happens during the endoscopic brow lift procedure?

Before the procedure

• Routine blood and radiological investigations will be done.
• Patients may be advised to shampoo their hair with antibacterial soap/shampoo the night before or morning of surgery.
• Hair does not need to be shaved.

During the procedure

• An endoscopic brow lift is performed under general anesthesia or with intravenous (IV) sedation and local anesthesia.
• Multiple small incisions are made just behind the hairline (most surgeons make 3- to 5-cm incisions), through which the endoscope and instruments are inserted.
• Brow tissue is gently released and elevated.
• Excess tissue is removed.
• The muscles are elevated, pulled up and anchored to the bone using anchors made of titanium which look like small screws of 2 mm width. They may be temporary or permanent and do not cause permanent damage.
• The incisions are sutured and dressed.
• A small surgical drain may be inserted — a clear tube is inserted through a small incision below the main incision.

After the procedure

• Post-operative pain can be managed with painkillers.
• Antibiotics may be necessary.
• Patients are advised to rest with their head elevated for two weeks.
• Patients are usually discharged the same day or 24 hours after surgery.
• The drain may be removed after 24 hours.
• The dressing may be removed after 48 hours.
• Patients can shower and wash their hair after 48 hours, using mild shampoos prescribed by the surgeon.
• The surgeon may prescribe medicated ointments to apply to the wounds.
• Patients should not use any hair products for at least seven days.
• Depending on the type of suture used, the surg