A variety of implants are available to augment the jawline and lower third of the face. Standard chin and jaw angle implants have been available for decades and one piece custom jawline implants have become more recently used. The most powerful of the two is the custom jawline implant as it expands the entire inferolateral contour of the lower jaw in a wrap around fashion.
While a custom jawline implant is very effective at creating a more visible and defined jawline because of the surface area expansion, the aesthetic result is also influenced by the overlying soft tissues. How thick the overlying tissues are, particularly the subcutaneous fat layer, can decrease the visible outline of the implant. It is a little bit like putting a blanket over a ball…its shape will be less distinct.
While there are only a limited number of options to decrease tissue thickness of the face, the interface of the expanded bone contour and the neck can be improved by liposuction. In the patient who has this tissue thickness issue, small cannula liposuction can be done along the jawline from a submental approach. This can be supplemented by jaw angle liposuction from a postauricular approach as well.
In the patient with thicker tissues but no significant neck fullness, linear liposuction along the jawline can be of aesthetic benefit to reveal more of the jawline implant’s shape. If the overall neck is fuller then the entire neck is treated by liposuction as well. This will improve the definition of the cervicomental angle which also improves the visible improved projection of the jawline.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana