Thank you for your question.
You submitted your question without a photo.
And you’re asking a straightforward question: is it safe to put a filler on top of a chin
implant?
Well, I can certainly explain to you what I explain to my patients who ask similar questions
in our practice.
A little bit of background, I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.
Placement of chin implants is fairly routine in our practice as well as the use of fillers
that is very effective in creating similar types of outcomes in a method which we call
Structural Volumizing.
So the reason why I want to elaborate further on the question besides just saying yes or
no is that there are some important issues to really resolve so that you can get a predictable
and safe outcome.
So number one is that chin implants are placed in a particular level of the bone.
It’s called subperiosteum.
It means that it’s a layer of very tough tissue on top of the bone called the periosteum.
And the implant is placed between that tough tissue, the periosteum, and the bone and fixated.
Basically, a capsule eventually forms around the implant.
When you are placing injectable fillers, you have options as to the level which those injectable
fillers are placed.
Now one of the challenges that we have to also consider in your particular situation
is whether or not the filler would actually make a difference.
Sometimes when people have a chin implant and there is a very tight space between the
skin and the implant, then the placement of a filler will not likely make a dramatic change.
So that’s something to be very mindful of especially when you are placing the filler
at a deeper level.
Now if there are some soft tissue like the area below the skin where there’s a certain
room for movement, then placing filler in that space is feasible.
I think that the take home message is that the safety is in minimizing the possibility
of infection.
The implant itself does not have a blood supply.
Therefore when you are placing a filler from the skin through the skin, you have to be
sure that the bacteria that’s on the skin surface does not have an opportunity to go
in at the same level of the implant by practicing as much sterility as is appropriate.
When we do Structural Volumizing in our practice, what we are doing essentially, whether there’s
a facial implant in place or not, we treat the procedure like surgery.
So our preparation and everything is as if we are doing surgery using different types
of antiseptics such as Betadine to make sure that the skin surface is bacteria free as
is possible, employing very specific sterile techniques to place the filler using blunt
cannulas.
And we are placing this material between the bone structure or in your case, the implant
and the muscle.
And that provides a very nice sculpting effect that creates a very natural look.
Very often, we’ll also fill the soft tissue between that space and the skin.
So the take home message here is that the safety is there but you have to be fastidious
about minimizing the risk of infection.
There are sometimes indications where we put someone on antibiotics just to cover those
bases.
Every case is individualized.
The short answer to your question, is yes, it’s technically safe to put filler on top
of an implant, but there is a potential risk by the presence of a foreign body on your
anatomy, so minimize the risk of infection so you get a good and safe outcome.
I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck, and thank you for your question.