Silicone or Mersilene Mesh Chin Implant? (Photo)

Question

I'm getting a very small chin implant soon. I went to a few consultations and found out some doctors use silicone while some use mersilene mesh. Is there one material that has more cons than the other? Does one have higher risk of infection? Does one have a higher risk of the body rejecting it? Does one carry a risk of cancer?

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question. A formal evaluation would be needed to determine the best treatment. There are both surgical and non-surgical options to correct this.

We can place a chin implant, which is a quick surgical procedure. Many of my patients try to avoid surgery, however, so for those patients, we also offer non-surgical chin augmentation with injectable fillers. Fillers like Radiesse, Voluma, BellaFill, and Sculptra are injected into the area to improve the overall appearance of the lower face and balance the jaw and lip harmony. We use cannula injections to meticulously contour and project the chin, soften the chin along the jawline, and improve the chin crease.

Implants are a great option once you are ready for permanent chin enhancement.​ Our expert facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Donald Groves, prefers using MedPor instead of the implant materials you mentioned- it integrates well into the native tissues and provides better long term aesthetic results.

I suggest getting a consultation with an experienced cosmetic dermatologist and facial sculpting expert, or an aesthetic facial plastic surgeon like Dr. Groves; we are both located right here in Los Angeles.

Best, 
Dr. Emer

Michael P. Morrissette, DDS, FACS · Answer

I prefer silicone over mersilene or medpor because it is soft, easy to place through a small incision, and easy to remove if necessary. The risks of infection are likely the same with all implants but removing an implant that gets embedded with tissue can be more difficult. In addition, If you elect to have an implant, I would recommend that the implant be secured with screws. I have seen and removed many implants that have migrated or positioned improperly at the time of surgery. Based on your photos, minimal horizontal projection ( an extra small implant) is needed.

Eric M. Joseph, MD · Answer

Rubberized silicone is an FDA approved medical device that has been used for chin implant surgery since the 1970s. Silicone is non-reactive, and a capsule forms around it keeping it in place. If you don't like the results of your chin implant, with silicone, it is ridiculously easy to remove. Mersilene is Polyester. I believe that Merselene would be more likely to give a problem, and more difficult to remove than silicone, if that might be necessary. I hope this helps! Sincerely, Dr Joseph

Matthew Bridges, MD, FACS · Answer

I don't like Mersilene mesh at all. The tissue grows into it, making it very difficult to remove if needed.  Solid silicone is easy to remove if needed.  Mersiline is very inflammatory as well, whereas silicone is essentially inert.  By the way, from your photos I agree that you need a very small implant, if anything.  I would actually say you might benefit more from an "anterior" neck lift, meaning it a neck reshaping done via an incision under the chin (and sometimes with small access incisions around the earlobe).  This would increase the apparent distance from your chin to the turning point of your neck by improving the definition.  My 2 cents...

William Portuese, MD · Answer

In our practice for over 30 years, we only use silicone chin implants with an excellent success rate. Any of the porous type implants have a higher infection rate, and since there's tissue in-growth during the healing phase, they're very difficult and complicated to remove when needed. We have seen significant nerve damage and tissue damage trying to remove these infected implants. Placement of a silicone chin implant can be done under local anesthesia and outpatient procedure which takes about 30 minutes.

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