Chin augmentation is a cosmetic surgical procedure performed on the chin. The surgeon will work to change the size of the chin by enhancing or reshaping it accordingly. Chin enhancement is when implants are inserted into the chin to make it bigger. Someone who wants their chin to project out more will want to choose an enhancement procedure. A chin reshaping procedure may also be needed if the bones of the chin have to be moved around as well.
There is no medical reason to get a chin augmentation done. People choose to get this procedure for purely cosmetic reasons. We’re not all born with balanced faces when it comes to the size of our noses and foreheads. Some of us have big noses and foreheads but tiny chins. On the flip side, you may already have a large chin but a very tiny nose. Either way, a chin augmentation can balance your chin in conjunction with the size of your forehead and nose.
Chin augmentations happen all the time. You probably don’t notice when other people have had chin augmentations done because their chins look proportional to all the other features on their faces. Don’t worry because a chin augmentation is not going to give you a big chin like Jay Leno. He has a naturally oversized chin, which is not the best look for everyone. But it has become his signature look, so he doesn’t try to change it.
Overall, a chin augmentation procedure can add more definition to your jawline and neck. It can fix a recessed chin and enhance the harmony of your entire face and its features. Most importantly, you can reduce the “double chin” look if you have a small chin bone that needs to be bigger.
What to Expect
Chin augmentation will require sedation and a local anaesthetic or a general anaesthetic which puts you to sleep. Once you’re completely numb to any pain in your chin area, the surgeon will proceed with an incision right under the chin or inside the mouth. The surgeon will make a pocket underneath the muscles in the frontal chin bone area. This pocket is where the implant is inserted.
The material used for the implant may vary. Some surgeons like to use real fatty tissue or bone in order to have natural materials inside the person’s chin. If fatty tissue and bone are not used, then implants made from Dacron, Silicone, or Teflon may be used. These are biocompatible materials that are safe to use as chin implants. The surgeon will customize these materials into the size and shape needed for the chin. This is something that would be more difficult to do with fat and bone because those materials are limited in supply.
After the surgeon inserts the implant, they’ll proceed to use screws or stitches to attach the implant to the chin bone. This is where the anaesthesia comes in handy because it would be very painful to experience this step without it. The surgical incision is closed up with sutures in the end. If the incision was made on the outside of the chin, then you may have a small scar left behind once everything heals. But if the incision was made inside the mouth, then no one will see the scar. That is why some people choose to have the incision done through the mouth.
It is very common for people to get chin augmentation surgery whenever they get facial liposuction or a nose job. The former involves the removal of fat from underneath the chin or on the neck. If you get chin augmentation immediately afterwards, the surgeon may use the fat they removed for your implant material.
Chin augmentation surgery takes under 60 minutes to perform the implantation. But if there are additional procedures needed, such as chin bone reconstruction, then it could take several hours more. The reconstruction procedure is usually reserved for people who want to make a naturally big chin look smaller rather than make a smaller chin look bigger.
Recovery Period
There is some downtime needed after the chin augmentation procedure. Since this is an invasive surgery, downtime is to be expected. Most patients require up to a week of recovery time before they can go back to work and resume their normal daily activities. A minimal amount of pain and discomfort may be experienced during this time. You can use cold compresses or over-the-counter pain relievers to deal with this pain.
When you go to sleep, lie down on your back with your head elevated and face pointing upward at the ceiling. Do not lie on your side or stomach because that could cause complications with your chin implants or bones. The incisions need time to heal, or else they may swell up if aggravated. You’ll need to spend the first couple of weeks after the surgery sleeping like this. Once the incisions heal, you can resume sleeping on your side again.
Ask your doctor for advice on this just in case.
