Chin Implant Removal Years Later?

I had a chin implant placed in my chin through a small one inch incision underneathe my chin six years ago in 2006. I'm thinking of removing it. I'll probably have the surgery in 2013, so seven years since my operation. If I have it removed so long after the initial procedure, will there be difficulty with the skin contracting back over my real chin? Additionally would it be a bad idea to get an X-ray of my lower jaw to see how much of my chin is silicone vs. natural? Would that even work?

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5 Doctor Answers | Asked by RBrownBH in Beverly Hills, CA

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Considerations for chin implant removal

Most likely this was a silicone implant as the incision was very small. It will be easy to remove and not all augmentation will be lost due to scar. If the implant was not too big, the chin skin should shrink back down without any sagging. Rather than an x-ray, it would be more helpful to know the type and size of the implant that was placed. This may be obtained from your prior surgical records. If this is not obtainable, a lateral cephalometric x-ray will show the bony chin and the outline... more

Removing chin implants

Most silastic chin implants can be removed easily, if appropriate. You may consider the removal of chin implant in the context of your jowl line, neck line, amount of chin redundancy, and the quality of bone in your mandible. Not all choices to remove the implants are suitable for patients based on these factors.

Removing a Chin Implant 6 Years Later

As long as your implant is made of silicone, it should be very easy to remove. Occasionally, some surgeons will use an implant made of a different material (gortex for example) that can be very difficult to remove. As long as you are sure that your implant is silicone, the surgery should be easy. Since chin implants are placed on top of the bone, it is not just the skin, but all of the tissue of the chin (skin,. soft tissue, fat, muscle, periosteum, etc.) that contracts back down onto the... more

Chin Implant Removal

First I would like to know why you are considering removal of the implant but It can be removed without problems. You may still have some increased chin projection after removal of the implant due to scarring in the space present after removal of that implant.

Richard W. Fleming, MD

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Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Removal of chin implant

There should be little problem to removing the chin implant as you describe. Your profile will likely revert to its per operative appearance. X- rays would not tell as much as copies of your pre and post op pictures and the operative report.