When you'te talking about implants becoming dislodged or malposition of the implants, the risk of a chin implant actually becoming misplaced with time or breaking is another question that I get, is really quite low. The chin implant is a solid piece, even though it's a silicone implant in many cases, it's not like a breast implant that's filled with silicone, it's a rubberized silicone so it's actually a firm piece that can't possibly pop. And different surgeons use different techniques to anchor that implant into place so once it's put in the perfect place during surgery, either sutures or even sometimes screws are used to hold that implant in place. So particularly with a chin implant, similarly with a cheek implant, the likelihood of over time that implant moving is quite low. When there are problems with placement of the implant that's usually a pretty immediate post-op thing that's recognized.

So usually one chin implant is the end. I do sometimes have patients where we've chosen a size and then implant pre-operatively and then later they decide that they actually want a bigger one or a smaller one or something like that. Switching out that implant is quite easy. It's just a very small incision underneath the chin and the entire surgery is done through there. So actually changing an implant is not that big of a deal but it's definitely the exception to the rule rather than the rule. Usually one implant and you're done.

Chin implants after they're placed really... and the healing process has completed, really feel, both to other people and to the patient like it's part of them. A chin implant takes about three months to see the final result in terms of swelling going down and feeling as normal as it's going to feel. In the immediate post-operative period, sometimes a little bit of numbness or tingling around the lip and feeling like there's something in there because there is. But it takes about three months for that to kind of normalize and the sensation to be completely normal and to really feel like that chin implant is you.

Both with rhinoplasty and chin implants, right now my practice is actually about 50-50. Used to be much more women but now, I don't know if it's the selfie, I don't know if it's the Facebook profile but it really is now 50-50 and most people come in and are interested mainly in a rhinoplasty and it's during that consultation that we're looking at their photos and they usually are the ones to point out to me, "What about my chin?" And doing a chin implant in conjunction with a rhinoplasty can really make a huge impact and that's really how I see most of my chin implant patients. It's that combination of rhinoplasty and chin implant.

"Will My Chin Implant Pop?" Your Popular Questions Answered

Dr. Dara Liotta answers the most common questions about chin implants.