Chin Augmentation Chicago, IL
Why choose Dr. Shah for your chin implants?
Dr. Shah is a facial plastic surgeon. This means he’s a surgeon whose practice is solely dedicated to facial aesthetics. His distinct combination and aesthetic focus on the face makes him uniquely qualified for chin implantation and facial analysis.
He is the number one user of Implantech facial implants in the state of Illinois for 3 years in a row. He has been featured on Fox News for his innovative approaches including doing a live chin augmentation on-air. Dr. Shah offers a local anesthesia option for this procedure, making it easier for you as a patient. In addition, he is a former professor at NYU, and current instructor at University of Chicago and author of over 50 research articles.
Dr. Shah’s Formula For Success
The aesthetics of the chin
While success is never a guarantee with surgery and any procedure, our practice believes that going to Dr. Shah’s distinct combination and aesthetic focus on the face makes him uniquely qualified for chin implantation and facial analysis.
The appearance of the face is in part determined by the underlying skeletal structure. Animals do not have chins, but humans developed chins perhaps in part due to our more vertical orientation. If the chin is too small, the neck will appear aged and soft tissue jowling will occur earlier. No US president to date has had a deficient chin!
Physical examination of the chin is done both at rest and in animation. Chin is examined in both AP and vertical dimensions. The chin is examined to see how it relates to the lips, nose, labiomental groove, and neck.
Ways to augment the chin:
- Chin implant – Use of an alloplastic implant (can be silicone or gore-tex typically) to add projection to the chin
- Osseous Genioplasty – Advance the chin after making an osteotomy and using a plate.
- Fillers or fat – Use of soft tissues to augment the chin
Chin Implants Gallery
The before and after gallery represents a small fraction of the patients Dr. Shah has operated on. He has many more example of his work in his office. The gallery is intended to show a variety of aesthetics. All pictures shown are patients of Dr. Anil Shah.
Chin Implants (Mentoplasty) Procedure Technique
Dr. Shah uses a specialized technique for chin augmentation he prefers the external approach to the intraoral approach for several reasons. First of all, intraoral chin implants must go through the mouth and thereby have a higher exposure to the bacteria in this area. Dr. Shah prefers to minimize the chance of infection. In addition, intraoral chin implants tend to rest higher on the chin and are often secured with bone screws.
Dr. Shah does not use bone screws for chin implants. Bone screws involve placing either a metal or plastic screw through the chin implant. The issue with screws is that there will be some loss of bone along the jaw. Dr. Shah prefers a different approach. He preserves the covering of the chin bone, called the periosteum, along the center of the chin. The periosteum is like a carpet covering the bone. By preserving the periosteum along the center, he is able to place 4-5 sutures to secure the chin implant to the underlying bone. Some implants have wings to the end to further enhance the jowl and prejowl status. In these cases, he makes an incision along the lateral portion of the periosteum of the chin and places the wing of the implant underneath this area while still preserving the center portion.
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- Real patient
Anesthetic Choices for Chin Augmentation Overview
General anesthesia or IV sedation
Many patients seeking a chin implant are also looking for other areas of their face to enhance. For patients with other procedures where general anesthesia or IV sedation is recommended, a chin augmentation can be easily added on as an additional procedure. For patients seeking just chin enhancement, Dr. Shah offers an in-office alternative to patients not wanting general anesthesia.
Chin Implant FAQs:
Chin augmentation is used to increase projection of the chin with an implant.
Several materials can be used including Silicone, Mersilene mesh, and Gore-tex. Silicone is my material of choice for several reasons. First of all, silicone is solid state substance which is quite different from injectable silicone or silicone implants. While injectable implants and silicone breast implants have the potential to leak, silicone chin implants do not. Silicone implants have an excellent track record of safety when used in chin augmentation.
Recovery from this procedure is quite quick. There is typically limited discomfort and pain afterward and many patients are back to work in 3 days.
Your lateral view is the view where a weak chin will most likely show up. A weak chin may make a nose look bigger than it should and create an overall sense of facial weakness.
You should notice any asymmetries of your face. Almost all patients will have chin asymmetry. Some surgeons just place an implant in regardless of preoperative irregularity. This may accentuate asymmetry. I prefer to customize each implant to the patient but augment or reduce portions to help better balance the chin. Patients may still have asymmetry postoperative but it should be improved.
Your dental occlusion or bite is also important. If you have significant occlusion problems, alteration of your mandible may be a better choice.
Most commonly is implantation shifts can occur. The implant can be repositioned to improve the shift. Infection of chin implants is rare but can occur. Scarring can also occur externally
A chin implant can be placed orally or externally. The intraoral approach has the advantage of avoiding an external scar. However, the implant can become infected due to traversing the oral cavity which is laden with bacteria. Several studies have not shown a difference in rates of infection between implants placed externally and intraorally. Intraoral implants tend to rise superiorly due to the difficulty in creating a pocket laterally and fixating the implant in the midline.
The external approach has the advantage of placing the implant through a sterile technique. The implant is more readily fixed in the midline and shift of the implant is decreased. The main disadvantage is that an external scar is made. However, the meticulous closure will often time minimize the visibility of this scar. In addition, the location of the scar is a place where very few people will be able to see.
Dr. Shah’s approach is to tailor the approach to the patient. Some patients request an intraoral approach and I will typically comply unless they have significant chin asymmetry or require a large chin implant.
Yes, more and more patients are seeking in-office procedures. Dr. Shah is well versed in the knowledge of facial nerves and blocks. As such, he is able to perform chin augmentation with great comfort for the patient in the office setting.
More and more patients are seeking chin augmentation. Patients are keenly aware of how the chin can impact the overall jawline and appearance of the face. One of the bigger fears is having anesthesia or going to sleep to have a chin augmentation procedure.
When a patient is having another procedure such as a rhinoplasty, it makes sense to have general anesthesia. However, for patients just seeking chin enhancement, Dr. Shah has perfected a new technique where he can have the patient have the chin procedure in the office. Dr. Shah performs a series of nerve blocks and infiltrates the area around the chin with a combination of anesthetic techniques. This makes the area around the chin momentarily numb. With the patient slightly relaxed but without an IV, Dr. Shah is able to place the chin implant.
If you live near Chicago, IL, Anil Shah Facial Plastic Surgery offers chin augmentation among its services and is conveniently located at 200 West Superior St., Suite 200 Chicago, IL 60654