Chin Augmentation

When viewed in profile, the projection of the chin plays a very important role in balancing the forehead and nose. A small chin can make a nose look large; a large chin can make a nose look smaller. In the front view, a short chin results in the face looking “top-heavy”.

A chin augmentation is a very common procedure. When was the last time you saw someone and thought they had a chin implant? Those of us with “Jay Leno chins” were born that way. While plastic surgeons may overdo breast implants, the same probably cannot be said about chin implants. The results of a chin implant are subtle but profound.

A chin implant is commonly done on its own. But it is also quite commonly done with other procedures. Many patients who end up getting a chin implant do not come to the plastic surgeons specifically requesting it. They may say that their jawline or neck looks weak in profile or that their nose looks too big for their face. Figuring out what the problem is with their chin is something that only happens at their consultation with a plastic surgeon. Many of these patients may want to have a facelift or a neck lift. Some with a double chin will also get liposuction of their necks. And some who initially saw the plastic surgeon for treatment of a bump on their nose may end up still doing their nose along with their chin.

By increasing the projection of the chin, the neck looks more angular, lean, and youthful. Some patients who think they need some sort of a neck lift really are best served with a chin implant, either alone or with some type of a neck lifting procedure. And as the neck skin is distracted forward even a little bit by a chin implant, there is a greater amount of tightness noted in the skin underneath the jaw.

The chin plays a critical role in setting up balances in the face and in the neck. While men are typically considered more attractive when their chins are stronger and squarer than the chins in women, an attractive and balanced chin is important for both genders. People with weak chins simply do not look as healthy, fit, and energetic. A strong chin creates a greater appearance of strength and self-confidence. Its role in balancing the nose and forehead are very important in creating ideal facial proportions.

The nose and the chin are like a “teeter-totter” across the lips. A big nose can make a normal chin look small, and a small chin can make a normal nose look big. Dr. Hamid Karimi does not bring up procedures in consultation that the patient did not ask about. The only exception is the chin; so often patients who come in for a rhinoplasty also have an issue with their chin, and ignoring the chin means not properly diagnosing the issues with the nose.

Nearly all chin augmentations are done with a chin implant. But there are also procedures done in which the jawbone is cut and moved to create an increase in the vertical height or length of the lower jaw.

Once everything has healed, a chin implant will stay position. But sometimes in the early weeks after surgery and before everything has completely healed, the chin implant can move out of position. This is very uncommon, but correcting it does require returning to the operating room to put it back into position.

Most patients love their chin implant and never want it removed. But there are some patients who may have never needed it and want it gone. Removing a chin implant is a relatively straightforward procedure and usually proceed without a problem. But there are some cases in which the implant created a little depression in the bone beneath it, so that after the chin implant is removed the patient has less overall chin projection than they originally had.

A chin implant never needs to be replaced. Unlike a breast implant, a chin implant is solid; there is nothing to leak out of it. Most people have one chin implant and it will last them a lifetime.

The chin will look augmented as long as the implant remains in place.

Most chin implants today are made out of solid silicone. Implants have also been made out of GoreTex as well as an artificial bone. But those are rarely used, if at all.

There are many different shapes of chin implants. Some wrap widely around the jaw bone and others are very narrow and only project at the very front. Chin implants can be thin, augmenting only along a narrow area, or they can be tall. And they can wrap around the jawbone to varying degrees. They can have more of a pointy shape or a square shape.