Augmentation genioplasty (chin augmentation implant surgery)

Procedure steps

• Dr. Petit will listen to you in order to understand your discomfort as well as your requests relating to your chin.
• He will analyse the morphological characteristics of your chin, but also its proportions to your nose, to your facial contours and to your neck, in order to locate possible imbalances of your profile.
• Dr. Petit will perform a necessary endo-buccal examination in order to eliminate a disorder with the dental articulation (upper and lower teeth which do not touch normally) or any dental problem, which can contraindicate this surgery.
• The chin implants used are made from solid silicone and are very well tolerated.
• Dr. Petit will advise you on the most appropriate type of implant (shape and size), adapted to your anatomy and to your request.
• Sometimes, he will suggest combined procedures, such as a rhinoplasty (the combined operation is called profiloplasty), a neck liposuction or a jugo-cervical lift, in order to restore harmonious proportions to enhance your profile.
• Dr. Petit will provide information on the scar positioning, treatment process and procedure limits, post-operative recoveries as well as main risks, so as to make an informed decision.
• Moreover, he will explain the therapeutic alternatives aiming to advance a receding chin via an osteotomy of the advancement of the chin, bone graft, lipofilling (fat injections) or Hyaluronic acid.

Good candidates for an augmentation genioplasty are those

• Unease with their lack of chin projection.
• wishing to restore harmonious proportions to enhance your profile.
• With no dental articulation trouble or dental problem.

General pre-operative instructions relating to plastic surgery

• Smoking cessation 1 month before and after the procedure.
• Discontinuation of medicines which increase bleeding 10 days before and after the procedure: aspirin, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant medicines, vitamin E.

Procedure steps

A pre-operative marking locating the position of the implant is carried out by Dr. Petit before the procedure. In most cases, it is performed under general anesthesia, on an out-patient basis (hospital discharge that very evening).

The procedure consists in making a customized space for the chin implant on contact with the mandible bone, through a vestibular incision (between the lower lip and the lower gum).

Therefore, the scar is hidden inside the mouth.

The closure of the vestibular mucosa is performed with resorbable sutures.

A dressing modeling the chin is performed at the end of the procedure.

What to expect after surgery

The augmentation genioplasty is a little painful procedure. Pains are soothed by analgesics.

Ecchymosis (bruises) and oedema (swelling) located in the upper lip, in the chin and in the neck are classical and depend from one patient to another, gradually diminishing within a fortnight.

Rigorous oral hygiene with an antiseptic mouthwash are necessary over 5 days, as well as warm food (or cold) and soft consistencies (in order to avoid efforts of mastication) over 48 hours.

A modeling bandage under the chin has to be kept over 5 days.

The resumption of daily activities is possible the day following the procedure.

The resumption of professional activities can be done within 5 to 7 days after the procedure.

The resumption of sports activities is authorized within 4 to 6 weeks after the procedure.

Procedure risks

The complications of an augmentation genioplasty are weak.

Main risks are

• A haematoma.
• An infection: exceptional complication, requiring the removal of the implant.
• Transient problems relating to sensitivity in the lower lip region, as well as in the gum and teeth areas.
• An exposure of the prosthesis.
• A mobility of the implant.
• A poor tolerability of the implant requiring its removal.
• An imperfection of the result relating to unpredictable cicatricial phenomena.

Long-term result

The final result of a chin augmentation implant surgery is obtained between 3 to 6 months, when the post-operative œdema has disappeared.

The result is natural (invisible and impalpable prosthesis) and definitive (replacing the implant is not necessary).