Background: Chin augmentation is the commonly performed facial bone augmentation site. Chin implants have been around for almost fifty years in a preformed fashion. A large number of different chin implant styles and sizes now exist that seemingly can treat just about every type of aesthetic chin deformity.
The single greatest change/advance in chin implants over the past decade has been the concept of adding wings or lateral extensions. This makes sense for most chin augmentations to avoid a ‘bump-like’ appearance on the front edge of the chin and to have the implant flow more smoothly around the bony curvature of the chin. These wings can extend back onto the parasymphyseal area and front portion of the body of the mandible. The purpose of chin implant wings is not to add volume but to create a smooth transition between the implant and the jawline.
But not all aesthetic chin deformities truly stop at the front edge of the mandible. While the jaw behind the chin may not be especially short, the lower edge of the jawline is often not well defined. Adding volume or definition alone the jawline with a chin augmentation can be of benefit to some patients.
Case Study: This 50 year old female had numerous surgeries in the past to treat a medical problem that left her with multiple problems of the lip, chin and jawline. As part of her treatment strategy, an extended chin implant was planned to build up her chin as well as back along the jawline. The goal was to create a volumetric effect along the entire jawline.
Under general anesthesia she had multiple procedures done (e.g., fat grafting, lip resuspension) as well as an extended chin implant through an existing submental incision.
At six months after surgery, it can be seen that the effect of the extended chin implant was beyond that of just horizontal chin augmentation. The entire jawline behind the chin just short of the jaw angles had augmentation to make it slightly wider and more defined.
The extended chin implant concept is a much longer extension than that of the traditional winged chin implant. It can provide true increased jawline definition behind the chin since it is designed to do so. Such an extended chin implant can have numerous applications to other patients who need/want jawline definition but not necessarily stronger jaw angles.
Highlights:
1) Augmentation of the jawline can be done beyond that of the chin using a specially designed preformed implant.
2) Creating a more defined jawline extending backwards from the chin can be done with an extended chin implant.
3) The wings of all preformed chin implant do not extend much beyond the sides of the chin.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana