Strong Body, Weak Face

            You have worked hard to build up your body to convey a sense of strength, but you look in the mirror and something doesn't seem right. The chest is full, the biceps are bulging, the abs are ripped, but the chin is weak.  Rather than the full angular jaw you have always admired on Arnold, yours is narrow and retruding. In profile, it angles back rather than thrusting forward.  While you're at it, you notice this flatness of the cheeks instead of sharp chiseled cheekbones. Don't worry; your face is not a lost cause. Facial implants to the rescue!          

            These implants are made of a variety of firm materials, though solid silicone is the most popular. Implants exist for the chin, the jaw and the cheekbones. They can add projection and fullness to the facial skeleton. Then, your strong facial features can be part of the total picture of a muscular body.

            Chin Up

Our superheroes always have strong lantern jaws; a weak chin has always given a negative message. The original chin implants were small ovals that were placed on the point of the jaw. While they improved the profile, they could make the chin seem even narrower on front view. The current implants are termed anatomical implants. They are horseshoe, or U-shaped, wrapping around the mandible (jaw) bone to give more fullness. These implants come in a variety of shapes and sizes, offering additional thickness, length or width, as needed. They accurately blend with your own jaw for the most desirable effects. Careful measurement assures that the added dimensions will be in balance with the rest of your face.

            The surgery can be done under either local or general anesthesia. The implant can be inserted either through an incision in the mouth, or a small incision under the chin. The implant is placed on the surface of the jaw bone and anchors there, as if your own bone had these added dimensions. Post-operatively, you have to be careful for a few weeks not to disturb the area.  Chewing and smiling can be uncomfortable until the tissues stretch adequately over the implant. Once it is healed in place, it is permanently there.        

Malar Magic

Cheek, or malar, implants are inserted through the mouth. This surgery is usually done under light general anesthesia. The implants are placed over your own cheekbones to correct flatness to that area. These, too, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending how conservative or exotic a correction is desired. During the healing phase, a light diet is recommended with the intention of avoiding milk products and very acidic foods. Milk products may accumulate around the cut in the mouth and promote bacterial growth. These implants also anchor to the bone and are permanent.

            Probably the strangest implant for the head has been used in Japan.  There is a height requirement to be a Sumo wrestler. There was one Japanese hopeful who had a silicone implant placed under his scalp to give him the extra two inches he needed to qualify.

            It should be pointed out that these solid implants are used to Make Up for bony lack. They are firm and anchored to the bone. Some doctors have attempted to do the same thing using injections of silicone or other substances to fill out the areas. Not only do these injections have the wrong consistency, but they can shift with gravity or pressure and move into totally wrong locations. 

            With today's facial implants, once you have worked to build that body, plastic surgery can provide the balancing touches that neither diet nor exercise can achieve.