Can Bone Cement Be Used As Cheek Implant?

Question

Recently i heard that a friend got cheek implants made of bone cement. Is bone cement a better material as cheek implants compared with other materials such as medpor, silicone, etc.?

Stephen Prendiville, MD · Answer

Dr. Placik put it perfectly when he said bone cement is "far down the list of choices" in terms of cheek augmentation........ very far. There are so many alternatives available from volumizers such as Sculptra, to more permanent solutions such as cheek implants, that PMMA (bone cement) would never be considered in a discussion on cheek augmentation. PMMA works well for skull defects, in facial trauma, in Neurosurgery, but would be considered highly unpredictable in facial aesthetic surgery.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD · Answer

Generally bone cement, which is rarely used in orthopedic surgery, is composed of a poly methylmetacrylate. It is occasionally used to fill skull defects. Therefore, it could theoretically be used. However, it is extremely difficult to handle and would be far down on the list of choices. Clearly the most common material is silicone followed by porous polyethylene (medpor), with a vairety of other implants such as PTFE (Gortex) or Polypropylene mesh.

	You may want to first consider an injectable filler as an option.

David Shafer, MD, FACS · Answer

There are several types of products which may be considered "bone cement," so it is unclear what product your patient had. My advice would be to make sure you are seeing a board-certified surgeon with experience in facial implant surgery and let them do whatever it is they typically do. Forcing a surgeon to use a different product or technique than they normally do can lead to problems. Good luck.

Darryl J. Blinski, MD · Answer

Not in the USA!! It is called off label use and maybe even illegal. So be careful out there asking for things you want that may harm you.

Peter A. Aldea, MD · Answer

Regarding: "Can Bone Cement Be Used As Cheek Implant?
	Recently i heard that a friend got cheek implants made of bone cement. Is bone cement a better material as cheek implants compared with other materials such as medpor, silicone, etc.?"

	The BEST Implant would be one that does not get infected, the body readily takes up and our vessels penetrate to bring in infection fighting white cells and red cells to supply the scarring incorporation process, one that does not move, does not thin the underlying bone or the overlying skin, that can be customized to each face, that is cheap, that does not require removal from one part of the body creating donor areas complications and that is relatively cheap.

	Such an implant does NOT exist. Methylmethacrylate, the bonding agent used to glue in joints, is mixed just before use and gives off a significant amount of heat. It can be molded for a few minutes before it becomes rock hard. It can be mixed with antibiotics which would then leach off and reduce the rate of infection of the glue but I do NOT think it is superior to Medpor implants which are porous, can be sized much more accurately and placed more accurately where they belong. I suspect it was used because it is significantly cheaper.

	Good Luck.

	Dr. Peter Aldea

Richard W. Fleming, MD (retired) · Answer

Bone cement could be used for cheek augmentation, but why? Silicone implants or fat augmentation are much easier, more reliable techniques to contour you cheeks.

Can Bone Cement Be Used As Cheek Implant?

Answers (6)

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