Occasionally, a person may have a weak chin or cheeks that do not seem to harmonize with other facial features. In such cases, chin or cheek augmentation can strengthen the appearance of a receding chin or cheek by increasing its projection. This can bring the patient's profile into harmony and give more balance to the overall appearance of the face.
Chin augmentation can be performed in two different ways, depending on the severity of the problem or the anatomy of the individual. One method is to reposition the bony end of the chin through an incision inside the mouth or under the chin. This piece of bone is shifted to a more favorable position and secured in place with small screws and plates. After a while, the bone heals in its new position and becomes completely stable. The other technique involves the insertion of a plastic implant over the chin. This chin implant can be placed either through an incision inside the mouth or through a small incision under the chin. In either case, the scar is barely visible after a while.
The patient may be placed on a liquid diet immediately after surgery in order to allow proper healing to occur. Shortly after surgery, the minor swelling and discoloration subsides, and the patient can return to his or her regular activities.
A cheek implant can be placed under the soft tissues of the cheek in order to augment and give better definition to the cheek. Sometimes the inadequate projection of the cheek area can be dramatically improved by this simple maneuver, enhancing one's entire appearance and affecting the way one feels about oneself. The implant can be placed through an incision inside the mouth or through a lower eyelid or brow incision.
Both of these operations can be done with local anesthesia and sedation or by general anesthesia. The operation is not lengthy, and the patient can be up and about the same day. The patient may have tape or a bandage keeping the implants in position for a few days. Makeup can be worn soon after surgery, and the patient can plan on returning to work in 1 or 2 weeks.
Occasionally, a person may have a weak chin or cheek that does not seem to harmonize with other facial features. In such cases, a Virginia chin implant or cheek augmentation can strengthen the appearance of a receding chin or deficient cheeks by increasing the projection. This can bring the patient's profile into harmony and give more balance to the overall appearance of the face.
A candidate for a Virginia chin implant and cheek augmentation would be any individual who is not satisfied with the shape of his or her chin and/or cheeks. Most individuals seek this operation after the face is fully developed. This occurs in the late teens. In older individuals, the only deterrent to surgery may be their general health. Of course, like any surgery, the most suitable patients are those who have reasonable expectations.
There are no real limitations to surgery unless your health makes an elective operation inadvisable. People who have unrealistic goals are not good candidates. An individual who has significant jaw misalignment or poor dental occlusion may or may not be a good candidate. Major jaw or dental surgery may be needed in such cases. Dr. Marefat can tell you what results you can expect in your case.
The shape of the chin or cheek is altered in such a way as to make that structure more suited to your face. Genioplasty or mentoplasty can strengthen the appearance of the receding chin by increasing its projection. It brings the patient's profile into better harmony and gives more balance to the overall appearance of the face. In some people, the chin may be too big and may need to be reduced. In this case, the chin is reduced by removing the excess bone. A cheek implant can be placed under the soft tissues of the cheek in order to augment the definition of the cheekbones. Sometimes, the inadequate projection of the cheek area can be dramatically improved by this simple maneuver, enhancing one's appearance and affecting the way one feels about oneself. If you have dental occlusion problems, this surgery will not change it.
In the first consultation, you will have a chance to discuss your concerns with our patient care coordinators and Dr. Marefat. We will explain what you need to know about your procedure and help to determine what is best for you. You will receive information booklets and pricing on the procedure.
The incisions are placed inside the oral cavity for cheek implants and under the chin for chin implants. In both cases, the incisions are very hard to see. Chin augmentation can be performed two different ways, depending on the severity of the problem or the anatomy of the individual. One method is by repositioning the bony end of the chin through an incision inside the mouth or under the chin. This piece of bone is shifted to a more favorable position and secured in place with small screws and plates. After a while, the bone heals in its new position and becomes completely stable. The other technique involves the insertion of a plastic implant over the chin. This chin implant can be placed either through an incision inside the mouth or through a small incision under the chin. In either case, the scar is barely visible after a while. Cheek augmentation can also be done in two ways. One way involves the placement of fat in this area to augment the cheek. The other method is to place a plastic implant over the cheekbone. The advantage of the fat graft is that the fat cells belong to your own body and are less likely to be rejected. The advantage of the implant technique is that you do not have to worry about losing the fullness of the cheek with weight fluctuations and aging.
Our objective is to improve the shape of your chin or cheek so that it is more suited to your face.
Dr. Marefat prefers to perform the Virginia chin implant and cheek augmentation operation with the patient under general anesthesia. In certain less complicated cases, it may be possible to do this surgery under straight local anesthesia or local sedation.
After surgery, you will have a mild-to-moderate amount of drainage from the incision site. You will need to rest for the first 2 or 3 days, but most people are up and about shortly after surgery. We generally recommend our patients take 7 days off from work. Heavy lifting and exercising should be avoided for the first 2 weeks. Your body will tell you when you are ready to get back into your regular exercise routine. You will wear a compression garment for a week. This helps to minimize swelling and limit the fluid collections under the skin or movement of the implants during the critical early days after surgery. During this interval, you can shower normally. There will be some numbness associated with the surgery. This numbness usually persists for about 4-6 weeks. A moderate degree of swelling is normal after Virginia chin implant and cheek augmentation. This swelling is related to accumulations of fluid in skin and subcutaneous tissues. Most of the swelling subsides within the first 2 or 3 weeks after the surgery. Minor asymmetry between the two sides of the face can be seen after the cheek augmentation. No one has a completely symmetrical face. You have to accept minor differences.
Unnaturalness in the results of cheek or chin implants is uncommon. Small irregularities in the contours of your implant may sometimes be visible. Most surgeons are well aware of this and try as best as they can to avoid such visible signs of surgery. Shifting of the implants is another possible complication that surgeons are aware of and try to minimize by suturing the implants securely in place. However, even when everything is done right, there is still a chance that you may have irregularity or shifting, and you may need to fix this problem in a touch-up procedure. This touch-up procedure is done approximately 3-6 months after the initial procedure.
Before reading about the complications, it is best to first consider how to digest these bits of information. Reading about complications can be quite scary. Many people cannot comfortably sit through a consultation session without having some real doubts about surgery. It is different when you have these complications explained to you by a doctor. Dr. Marefat can put it in perspective for you and identify the likelihood of such complications. Most complications are very rare. Some are less rare and need to be explained to you in more detail so that you will understand how we would approach these problems if they occurred. The purpose of explaining risks and complications is for you to know what steps we take to treat you and put you back on the road to recovery. Remember that every surgeon has his or her own way of treating problems. You must go over these potential risks with your surgeon to gain better insight and understanding.
Touch-ups are done after 3 months. These procedures are usually much simpler than the first procedure and are not as painful. Dr. Marefat can do them in our Virginia offices with a small amount of local anesthetic solution if it is a minor deformity or problem. However, if the problem of the implant were more complicated or difficult to anesthetize, he would correct it in the outpatient surgery center with the patient under general anesthesia.
There are very few sutures in facial implant procedures in general. These usually come out in the first week. Sometimes, you may have absorbable sutures that do not need to come out.
We like to see our patients frequently after surgery. You are seen by the doctor or nurse within 2-3 days of surgery. Then the normal routine is 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Of course, if there is a need, you may be seen more. After the first year, we encourage our patients to come in for routine follow-up visits every 3-5 years.
You should be able to wear makeup if you have had facial implant surgery. We do not recommend putting makeup on your incisions, however, because this may result in tattooing of the skin by the pigments of the makeup.
You are a good candidate for facial implant surgery if you have a correctable deformity, normal skin thickness, good general health, and realistic expectations. This does not mean that we cannot perform this operation if you do not meet these criteria. However, the best results are seen in individuals who have moderate skeletal deformities of the chin or cheek with a good quality skin cover. Generally, the younger you are, the better a candidate you are for surgery. A person’s physiological age is more important than their chronological age. That is to say, you may be 60 years old, but your skin and general health may be better than that of most 50 year olds.
You can pay for surgery by certified check, credit card, or cash. Payment for cosmetic surgery is expected prior to any procedure. If you are scheduled for surgery several weeks in advance, you may pay by personal check.
Yes. In the case of cheek implants and some chin operations, the scars are on the inside of the mouth and, therefore, not seen. Virginia chin implant operations are often done through an incision under the chin. In this case, the scar is usually 1 1/2 inches in length and is usually hidden by the natural fold that is present in this area. After several months, this scar fades and is hardly visible.
The pain involved in Virginia chin implant or cheek augmentation surgery is very tolerable. We have heard our patients describe it as soreness or minor discomfort. Many patients do not finish the pain medications prescribed to them for pain relief. Having said that, remember that pain is very subjective, and it is not easy to predict what degree of pain you will have.
These operations are usually done in an outpatient facility using general anesthesia. It is better to let the surgeon concentrate on the procedure and not on your level of discomfort during the surgery.
Virginia chin implant and cheek augmentation surgery is usually done in an outpatient facility. Only in rare situations in which the patient may have other risk factors does Dr. Marefat suggest surgery in a hospital environment. Minor touch-ups and corrections may be done in the office if the area to be corrected is easily anesthetized.
Yes. In all cosmetic and reconstructive cases, medical photos are taken. Photographs are mandatory; this is the only way for us to compare your condition before the operation to the results. Photographs in plastic surgery serve much the same role that x-rays serve for orthopedic surgery.
Dr. Marefat and the staff at Metropolitan Plastic Surgery would be happy to help you set up a private consultation to discuss facial volume restoration in Virginia (chin implant and cheek augmentation). Schedule an appointment online or call one of our locations at 703-516-7600 (Arlington area) or at 703-560-9583 (Woodbridge).
Dr. Marefat offers a number of financial assistance programs and payment programs to cover the cost of facial volume restoration (Virginia chin implant and cheek augmentation). Please visit the patient financing section of our website for more details or ask the staff at Metropolitan Plastic Surgery about these options so that you can get started with facial volume restoration (Virginia chin implant and cheek augmentation) today.
