Risk of chin implant movement? (Photo)

Thank you for your question regarding chin implants and the need for stabilisation with screws.

In most cases, chin implants are inserted into a carefully created pocket that is designed to be a relatively tight fit, which helps to minimise the risk of implant movement. As a result, implant movement is quite unusual under routine circumstances.

The majority of the time, screws are reelvant when more precise or specific positioning is needed, such as when aiming to achieve a degree of facial lengthening in addition to augmentation or to reduce the visisbility of a chin asymmetry. For routine chin augmentation, screw fixation is not always necessary.

The size of the implant and the amount of dissection performed to place the implant does allow for some movement of the implant. I prefer to use small screws to ensure there is no migration of the implant. I have removed implants from other practices that have used stitches to secure the implant. In some cases, the implants had migrated towards the skin.

For over 25 years, we have been suturing the bottom of the chin implant to the periosteum, which is the lining of the chin bone. I believe most surgeons utilize a suture technique, not a hardware technique with metal screws. Wishing you well moving forward. Sincerely, Dr Joseph

A properly placed chin implant is placed under the periosteum of your mandible in a very precise, snug pocket. The periosteum is a very tight tissue lining that is not flexible, so your implant is highly unlikely to be mobile. I also use sutures to temporarily secure the implant. Long term, there is no real added advantage of a screw versus absorbable suture.

Thank you for posting your question here!When it comes to chin implants the pocket dissection is key , the pocket should be be placed in the sub-periosteal plane and should be snug to keep the implant in place , that being said different implants are treated differently , silicone implants are almost never screwed in place , but medpor ones are usually screwed in place.I hope this helps, best of luck!

I normally also just suture the chin implant in place and do not use screws. I have not found this method to be a problem. I also tape around the implant on the skin and leave this in place for 3 days. In my experience, the chin implant should not move unless there is a significant amount of force applied to the chin area.

I routinely put the chin implant in through the oral approach. The pocket is quite tight and the implant is quite large so it does not displace. The sutures do not hold the implant in place, the sutures are for the closure of the access to place the implant. The implant is very stable because of the physical size and it does not need to be screwed in.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

If the implant is placed underneath the periosteum of the bone, it will be nice and solid. In the long run, you don't need the screws and the way he or she has proposed is a very appropriate approach with good long term safety.

Very rarely chin implant will need to be fixed to the bone with a screw. Most implants are made to fit to the underlying bone based on their design. Creating a small pocket that does not allow implant to move is key of implant fixation; a few sutures passed through the implant and soft tissue would further stabilize implant. It is important to avoid touching the implant and “checking” it in the early postoperative course. Hope this helps. Good luck.

When placing a chin implant, it's very important that the implant is placed in a precise subperiosteal pocket, which is directly over the bone. The pocket itself holds the implant in place. One or two dissolvable sutures placed centrally will hold the implant in place until a scar capsule forms around the implant itself. Make sure your surgeon has plenty of experience with placement of chin implants. In our practice, we do not use any screws, and the procedure can be performed under local anesthesia which takes about 30 minutes.