Explore the fascinating world of cosmetic and plastic surgery with world-renowned double board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Barry Eppley
Clinical Outcomes in Rib Removal Surgery for Waistline Reduction
Rib removal surgery represents the elimination of the last anatomic...
The Surgical Technique of Clavicular Osteotomies in Shoulder Width Reduction
Shoulder width reduction is done by shortening the length of the...
The shape and appearance of the forehead is highly influenced by...
Background: The evolution of rhinoplasty surgery over the past twenty years...
The key distinction is between “bone-like stiffness” being mechanically necessary and simply being a useful material characteristic. For most aesthetic facial onlay implants, the second description is more accurate. Think of a custom PEEK mandibular angle implant. Its job is primarily to create and permanently maintain a new skeletal contour. It isn’t replacing a segment Read More…
For an onlay aesthetic facial implant, having an elastic modulus closer to bone is potentially helpful, but the benefit is somewhat different—and arguably less important—than it is for a load-bearing orthopedic implant. Elastic modulus is essentially stiffness: how much a material deforms for a given stress. PEEK (~3–4 GPa) is dramatically less stiff than titanium Read More…
PEEK (polyether ether ketone) is a high-performance thermoplastic that has become increasingly popular for patient-specific facial implants because it combines high strength, dimensional stability, radiolucency, and a bone-like elastic modulus. Its mechanical properties are generally superior to porous polyethylene (Medpor) and more similar to cortical bone than titanium in terms of stiffness. Here’s a summary Read More…
Custom infraorbital-malar implants and fat grafting are fundamentally different treatments because they address different anatomical causes of undereye hollowing. Fat grafting restores soft tissue volume, whereas custom implants restore deficient skeletal support. Choosing between them depends less on patient preference and more on identifying whether the primary problem lies in the bone, the soft tissues, Read More…
The success of a custom infraorbital-malar implant depends far more on how it is designed than on the implant material itself. The objective is not simply to make the lower eyelid fuller, but to recreate the normal three-dimensional bony architecture that supports the lid-cheek junction. The implant should become an invisible extension of the facial Read More…
Custom infraorbital-malar implants are designed to permanently correct bone-based undereye hollowing by rebuilding the deficient skeletal support beneath the lower eyelid and extending onto the upper cheek when necessary. Unlike fillers or fat grafting, which add soft-tissue volume, these implants restore the underlying facial framework. This approach is particularly effective in patients whose hollow appearance Read More…
Forehead reshaping has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past three decades. What began as a procedure based largely on intraoperative sculpting of bone cements has evolved into a digitally planned, patient-specific discipline in which implant geometry, skeletal anatomy, and aesthetic analysis are integrated before the patient ever enters the operating room. As imaging technology, Read More…
Although custom forehead augmentation has become a highly predictable procedure, successful outcomes depend upon thoughtful patient selection, meticulous implant design, precise surgical execution, and realistic patient expectations. Fortunately, true medical complications are uncommon. The majority of revision procedures performed after forehead augmentation are not undertaken because of infection or implant failure, but because of aesthetic Read More…
Most publications on forehead augmentation, the few that exist, emphasize surgical technique rather than aesthetic analysis. Yet, in myexperience, the difference between a good and an exceptional outcome is almost always the design philosophy rather than the operation itself. The success of forehead augmentation cannot be judged simply by measuring the increase in projection or Read More…
Unlike many aesthetic facial procedures that directly modify the soft tissues, forehead augmentation is fundamentally a skeletal operation. The implant changes the position and contour of the underlying frontal bone, while the overlying scalp, forehead soft tissues, eyebrows, and skin adapt passively to the new skeletal framework. Understanding this relationship is essential for both surgical Read More…
Clinical Outcomes in Rib Removal Surgery for Waistline Reduction
Rib removal surgery represents the elimination of the last anatomic...
The Surgical Technique of Clavicular Osteotomies in Shoulder Width Reduction
Shoulder width reduction is done by shortening the length of the...
The shape and appearance of the forehead is highly influenced by...
Background: The evolution of rhinoplasty surgery over the past twenty years...