Chin Implant Vs Sliding Genioplasty

Great question.  This comes up quite often in consultation.  The preferred method is chin implant in the vast majority of cases.  With sliding genioplasty you can get projection and add some height, but it requires fracturing the bone and adding hardware such as plates and screws to secure in place which creates swelling for weeks.  The problem with a sliding genioplasty, besides the risks and downtime, is that it doesn't really provide much lateral augmentation on either side of the chin.A chin implant can add vertical height (we have implants that can do this as of 2017), lateral augmentation, projection, or it can be customize to add more laterally than centrally.  The biggest advantage to chin implants is the fact that they can be easily reversed by taking the implant out in the office under 5 min if the patient doesn't like it.  The risks, in my opinion, are less, downtime is less, and the procedure is reversible.  

The simplest explanation is that sliding genioplasty is used most often for assymetries of bone while an implant is best used when their is symmetry of sides.  Many genioplasties are performed in the setting of a normal chin enhancement.

The choice between a  chin implant or a sliding genioplasty depends on the individual patient's's anatomy.  Most patients would be better served with a well planned and executed Chin implant augmentation.  Sliding genioplasty has a higher complication profile, and should be reserved for the patients that can not be helped with chin implant surgery alone.  A well trained and experienced surgeon should be able to guild you in your choice.