Will Jaw Angle Implant Removals Make My Skin Sag?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had Medpor jaw angle implants of the lateral style with 9mm width placed 7 months ago, as well as a 7mm forward and 4mm down genioplasty. The left side was placed a little too low, though, and I felt that the genioplasty advancement was too big, so I went to another surgeon to attempt to reposition it and reduce the genioplasty. The genioplasty was reduced successfully, but somehow my left jaw angle was repositioned even lower! You can imagine my horror when I roughly measured that one side was about 1 cm lower than the other!

I am already scheduled to have my jaw implants removed, and it will be 72 days between the revision surgery and the implant removal. I am not so much worried about the right jaw implant, since it only provided lateral augmentation, but I am very worried about sagging from the larger jaw implant. My surgeon said that it will likely sag, but it will be minimal. I have thick skin, and I never had a particularly defined jawline to begin with. What should I expect in terms of soft tissue response. Are there any soft tissue management strategies you would recommend, such as liposuction or fat grafting?

Thank you very much

A: You take out the jaw angle implants first and then see what happens. No one knows how the soft tissue will respond and what, if any, soft tissue problem may ensue. Trust the healing process and don’t get ahead of yourself. Quite frankly these questions are more appropriately directed to the surgeon who is doing the procedure who has full knowledge of your case.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon