Category: custom facial implants

PEEK Facial Implants – Mechanical Properties and Clinical Advantages

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 vs. Fat Grafting for Undereye Hollowing

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…

Design Considerations for Custom Infraorbital-Malar Implants for Undereye Hollowing

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 for Undereye Hollowing Case Example

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…

Augmentation of the Upper Face – Part 9. The Future of Forehead Reshaping Surgery

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…

Augmentation of the Upper Face – Part 8. Complications, Revision Surgery, and Prevention Strategies

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…

Augmentation of the Upper Face – Part 7. Aesthetic Outcomes and Design Principles

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…

Augmentation of the Upper Face – Part 6. Soft Tissue Adaptation Following Custom Forehead Implant Placement

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…

Augmentation of the Upper Face – Part 5. Surgical Technique for Custom Forehead Implant Placement

The evolution from intraoperatively molded augmentation materials to patient-specific implants has fundamentally changed forehead augmentation surgery. Earlier techniques required wide surgical exposure to permit direct molding and contour refinement during the operation. In contrast, custom implants are fully designed before surgery, allowing the operative procedure to focus on precise placement rather than implant creation. This Read More…

Augmentation of the Upper Face – Part 4. Custom Facial Implant Design

The development of patient-specific forehead implants represents the single greatest advancement in aesthetic forehead augmentation over the past two decades. Earlier augmentation techniques relied primarily on intraoperative molding of bone cements or manually modified stock implants, both of which depended heavily on surgical experience and offered limited precision in reproducing complex three-dimensional contours. Contemporary computer-aided Read More…