What are facial implants?
Yes, face implants can absolutely be customized to your face. Facial implants are solid biocompatible material shaped to fit on the facial skeleton and provide augmentation and/or reshaping. Several different materials are used, the most common being solid silicone.
What kind of facial implants are commonly used?
The most common facial implants are for chin augmentation, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Implants to reshape a wide variety of facial areas are available including cheek, angle of jaw, temple and tear trough.
When do you need custom implants?
Custom implants are used in two main situations. The first is for patients who have asymmetry or irregularity of the bony contour of the face or jaw, often related to a traumatic injury. This creates a situation where standard implants do not fit on the bone properly and a custom implant needs to be made. The second is for patients who desire a contour change that standard implants cannot accomplish.
How long is recovery after placement of a custom implant?
Recovery after facial implant placement is generally easy. Most patients do not have much discomfort. Swelling occurs and may take from one to four weeks to fully resolve. Most patients are comfortable resuming normal activity in about a week.
What is the process for custom implant creation?
A CT scan of the face is taken and this is used as the basis for implant design. The implant design team then creates an initial design based on the implant characteristics requested. There are usually two or three telephone sessions between the design team and the physician, sometimes including the patient, where three dimensional renderings are reviewed and modified as needed. Once the final design is completed, molds are made and the manufacturing process takes place, usually in about 6 weeks.
What if I don’t like an implant after it is in my face?
Most facial implants can be easily removed or replaced. One of the reasons our practice prefers solid silicone implants is because there is no tissue ingrowth and this makes them especially east to remove if necessary for any reason.
Will my body reject an implant?
Solid implant materials are biologically inert so rejection does not occur. Your surgeon will take care to place the implant in a meticulously sterile manner after soaking in antibiotic solution to prevent infection.
