Generally easy

Technically, removal of a chin implant is easy... assuming it is a silastic type implant. Medpor implants can be much more difficult. Recovery is very quick as well. Little of the swelling associated with the initial surgery typically happens.

Patients having their chin implant removed should expect to have their old prolile back. The chin implant may also mask some looseness of the neck, so that when the implant is removed, the neck may appear somewhat looser.

Patients will obviously want to discuss these variables with their plastic surgeon, and go over all their choices, including the possibility of replacing the implant with a more suitable implant.

Removal of chin implants depends on two factors:

• Type of implant
• Whether there is ingrowth of tissue into implant

If the chin implant is made of silicone, it is easy to remove the implant. If the implant is made of other substances such as medpore, for example, the tissue will have grown into the implant and thus, the dissection is seldom straightforward.

The other two important aspects of the discussion are whether removing an implant may cause a secondary deformity with drooping of the chin; and whether to remove them from an incision in the mouth or below the chin in the skin.