Chin augmentation using synthetic materials is both the most historic facial implant procedure and still the most commonly done. This is evidenced in that chin implants have the largest number of styles and sizes commercially available of any facial implant manufactured today. Chin implants are inserted by incisions either from the inside of the mouth mucosa or through the skin under the chin. There are advocates for either approach but successful chin augmentation results can be obtained either way with good attention to their unique technical details.
The placement of chin implants is most commonly done from a submental skin incision. It has the advantages of more limited disruption of the mentalis muscle of the chin, less risk of lower lip numbness and a more assured and sustained placement of the implant on the lowest portion of the chin bone. (where it belongs for its maximal effect) Understandably some patients are concerned about the final appearance of the submental scar. This concern is most significant in patients of intermediate skin pigments.
I have seen many submental chin implant scars and there are often much larger (longer) than they need to be. The use of silicone chin implants, even the longer anatomic or winged ones, allows for the implant to be inserted in a folded fashion, one half at a time. This enables a remarkably small incision to be used despite the length of the chin implant.
The key is to develop the subperiosteal tunnels along the sides of the chin bone in largely a blinded fashion. Once the incision is made down to the bone, small elevators are used to made the subperiosteal tunnels along the inferior border of the mandible. It is important to make these tunnels longer than the wings of the implant on each side. By so doing half of the implant can be inserted and slide past its midline to one side. This will allow the opposite wing to be folded and inserted easily and then slide back to the midline.
Once the implant is in the tunnels it can be slide back into the midline and secured by whatever fixation method one desires. (in this case of a vertical lengthening chin implant a 1.5mm screw was used)
Minimal incision chin augmentation can be very effectively done through a submental skin incision using preformed silicone implants.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana