Chin Cleft Removal

Q: Dr. Eppley, I was interested in removing the dimple or cleft in my chin. I have attached pictures of it so you can see if chin cleft removal will work for me. It is not a big chin cleft but it bothers me nonetheless.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. What you have is a lower vertical chin cleft which is a direct manifestation of a notch in the chin bone. If you feel the chin bone under the cleft you will probably feel a notch or a groove in the middle of the chin bone. In this type of cleft it is important to fill in the bone ‘defect’ as well as add a little fat right into the soft tissue portion of the chin cleft since it also is making a contribution. This is done from inside the mouth with the placement of a very small mesh implant into the bony groove. The fat can be harvested from inside the bely button and injected into the soft tissue cleft or a small graft can be harvested from inside the mouth from the buccal fat pad and placed directly into the defect.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana