Blog

Custom Facial Implant Materials – Silicone, PEEK, Porous Polyethylene, and Titanium: How To Choose the Right Material

Custom facial implants are manufactured from several biocompatible materials, most commonly solid silicone, PEEK, porous polyethylene, and titanium. Each has unique advantages and limitations, and no single material is best for every patient or every procedure. The most important factor in a successful custom facial implant is not the material—it is the implant’s design. A Read More…

Contour Augmentation with Alloderm Grafts in Masseteric Muscle Dehiscence Case Example

Masseteric muscle dehiscence is one of the more frustrating soft tissue complications that can occur after custom jaw angle implant surgery. While meticulous muscle dissection and ligamentous release is the primary method of prevention, muscle retraction over the implant can still occur. The masseter muscle normally inserts onto the lateral surface of the mandibular angle. Read More…

The Technique of Shoulder Widening by Clavicle Lengthening Osteotomies

Shoulder widening by clavicle lengthening osteotomies is the opposite of shoulder narrowing surgery. Rather than shortening the clavicles, the bones are divided (osteotomy) and immediately lengthened to increase biacromial shoulder width. Indications This is a rare procedure that may be considered for: Congenitally narrow shoulders. Patients seeking greater upper body width for aesthetic masculinization. Selected Read More…

Bony Orbital Shapes in Undereye Holllowing and Negative Orbital Vectors

The shape and position of the bony orbit is one of the most important anatomic factors in the development of undereye hollowing and a negative orbital vector. While aging and soft tissue descent contribute to tear troughs, many younger patients have these features because of the underlying skeletal anatomy. The Normal (Positive Orbital Vector) In Read More…

The Role of Rib #10 in Waist Narrowing Surgery

What is the most important tib to remove/modify in waist narrowing surgery? If the goal is to achieve the greatest reduction in structural waist width, the 10th rib is the single most important rib to modify or remove. While aesthetic rib surgery has historically focused on removing the free-floating 11th and 12th ribs because they Read More…

Preoperative Testing in Shoulder Widening Surgery

Some patients before shoulder widening surgery, through either deltoid implants or clavicle lengthening techniques, may want to test how much width they desire and compare that to what the surgeries can actually achieve.. This can be done by broadening the shoulders under clothing using silicone shoulder pads which are commercially available in several designs. The Read More…

The Pleura in Rib Removal Waistline Narrowing Surgery

In rib removal surgery of the lower rib cage for a waistline narrowing effect the most feared complication is that of a pneumothorax. A pneumothorax occurs because the pleural lining of the lung is inadvertently opened or torn during surgery and is not recognized. This allows air to escape from the lungs and, if enough Read More…

The Myth of Squaring Out The Jaw Angles in Implant Designs

Why is squaring out the jaw angle in custom implant designs not a good idea? From an aesthetic and anatomic standpoint, creating a perfectly square mandibular angle with a custom jawline implant is usually not the ideal design goal. While many male patients ask for a “square jaw,” the most attractive and natural masculine jawlines Read More…

Ai -Assisted Custom Facial Implant Designs

Can I Just Let AI Design My Custom Facial Implant? The short answer is no—not yet. AI has become an exceptionally powerful tool for designing patient-specific implants, but it is still best viewed as an intelligent assistant rather than an autonomous implant designer. While AI can dramatically improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency, the final implant Read More…

Custom High Forehead Implant Design for Correcting a Backward Sloped Forehead

One of the moat common reasons patients seek forehead augmentation is to change the forehead slope in profile. They often seek to correct a more backward forehead slope into a more vertical one. The key question is where does the slope of the forehead start to become retroclined. Does it begin to do so at Read More…