Can I Get Microneedling If I Have Cheek and Jaw Implants?

Q: Dr. Eppley, 1. Would any cosmetic skin treatments like microneedling or Fraxel laser therapy pose a risk to my implants? (in particular the malar implants but also the chin or jaw implants)

2. Have you ever heard of apthous ulcers causing jaw hardware infection? I am taking rapamycin for longevity benefit, and this drug causes occasional canker sores. I want to make sure that I don’t put my jaw hardware at risk, and would stop the rapamycin if you thought there was a significant risk that a canker sore could lead to a hardware infection.

A: In answer to your questions:

1) Facial implants are not at risk from any ‘invasive’ skin treatments such as microneedling or laser resurfacing.

2) Apthous ulcers are a superficial mucosal (wet or dry) eruption that is far removed from the subperiosteal location of your facial implants. There is no infectivity risks to your implants from them.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon