Is it common to cut the wings of a chin implant?

Fortunately, chin Implants come in many shapes and sizes.  Therefore, discuss your desires with your surgeon so the correct chin implant will be available at your surgery.

 Hi, I have performed many facial shaping procedures, including Chin Augmentation with dermal fillers or silastic chin implants, for over 30 years.  Non smiling photos of your face from the front and side would help in the evaluation.   As described below, chin implants provide "forward" projection to correct a weak chin.  If, your chin is not weak, then there's really no reason to have a chin implant.  If you do have a weak chin, the EAC (extended anatomical chin implant) style implant in my humble opinion provides the most "natural" augmentation mainly because their wings provide a natural taper on the each side of the implant.  Should the wings be removed, or an implant used without wings, this approximates the old curvilinear style chin implant.  That style implant fell out of favor in the 1980's because it created a exaggerated front augmentation (without a natural taper on the sides) resulting in what was called a "Pharoah's chin".  This, in my opinion, would be the primary reason for not cutting off the wings of an EAC chin implant. When the chin is weak, this creates an imbalance making the nose appear larger, the mid face top heavy, the lower face looks short, de-emphasizes the lips and allows early formation of a "double chin".  
 Proper placement of a silastic chin implant adds forward projection to the chin thereby creating harmony and balance to the lower face.  Using the same incision, liposuction can be performed to reduce the fat and further shape the neck.  Excess skin, from below the chin, can also be removed through the same incision.  
 I have found that placement of a silastic chin implant, through a small curved incision under the chin (also allows excess skin removal) to be very safe, quick, highly effective and far less invasive than a sliding genioplasty (requires extensive tissue dissection, bone cuts and placement of metal screws and plates to secure the cut segments of bone).  I perform chin implant surgery in 30 minutes or less, often using a local anesthetic alone.    
Hope this helps.