Background: The custom jawline implant is one of the most frequently performed and powerful of all custom facial implant designs. Its wrap around shallow augments the entire jawline in a preformed implant design. While such an implant design is undergo complete control of the surgeon and patient there is no way to know for sure what its exact postoperative aesthetic effect will be. In short the implant design may be an exacting process but its resultant effects are a best guess estimate.
Once a custom jawline implant is placed, however, its aesthetic effect becomes evident. More often than not the patient is satisfied with the result and the implant design may be considered a success. But there is certainly a percentage of jawline implant patient that feel it is either too big or too small or some aspects of its shape they wish were different.
Some of these desired postoperative changes are within the tolerance of some patients particularly if the issues are minor or on the small side. But the implant effect that almost no patient will tolerate long term is if the implant is perceived as too big.
Case Study: This male desired a custom jawline implant to smooth out the jaw irregularities after double jaw surgery as well as an overall jaw enhancement. He put in a lot of thought as to his implant design and it successfully surgically placed. After waiting several months to see the final result he decided that his implant design was too big and wanted a new smaller implant design. A new custom jawline implant was designed with the same identical footprint but with smaller dimensions at the jaw angle areas.
Under general anesthesia and through his existing submental and intraoral incisions the first custom jawline implant was replaced with the new smaller implant.
Custom jawline implants not uncommonly undergo revisions or replacement as the full effect of its design is never truly known until it is implanted. This reality combined with the knowledge of the implant’s design empowers the patient to know how the implant design may be changed for a more desired aesthetic effect. Exchanging such jawline implants can be challenging or uncomplicated based on how the implant ‘s design was changed. If the implant’s footprint is the same and its dimensions are less such a downsizing implant exchange is the most favorable as the surrounding scar capsule does not need to be altered. This will also result in less swelling and recovery time compared to its initial placement.
Key Points:
1) Custom jawline implants, while producing powerful lower facial changes, may be more than some patients expect.
2) Downsizing a custom jawline implant with the same or lesser footprint is a straight forward surgical exchange process.
3) The recovery from a smaller custom jawline implant is about half of the original implantation surgery.
Dr. Barry Eppley
World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon