Chin Implants Surge, Plastic Surgeons’ Group Says.

Health Blog April 16, 2012 By Laura Landro  Botox and breast augmentation remain the top cosmetic procedures in the U.S., but chin implants are the fastest-growing trend according to new data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.  The group, comprised of 7,000 physicians, says the number of chin implants grew 71% last year to 20,680. The procedures were about evenly divided between men and women, with the largest increase in patients 40 and older.  The group's president, Malcolm Z. Roth, suggests one reason may be the fact that more people see themselves on video-chat technology. "They may notice that their jaw line is not as sharp as they want to be."  Chin surgery, also known as mentoplasty, usually involves an incision inside the mouth or in the crease under the chin through which an implant made of silicon or another material is inserted in the soft tissue of the chin.  The procedure usually takes one to several hours and may be done under local or general anesthesia. ASAPS says the national average physician's fee is $1,851. The procedure is often performed with rhinoplasty, or nose reshaping, to achieve proportion.  David A. Hidalgo, a New York plastic surgeon, tells the Health Blog that many of his facelift patients get chin implants "in order to improve neck contour and relieve lip strain," or chin dimpling, that occurs in even modestly set-back chins. He also inserted a chin implant in a patient "to balance an overly projecting, but nicely shaped nose, thereby avoiding a rhinoplasty."  Hidalgo cautions: "Chin-implant selection should be conservative — nothing looks worse than one that is too large." And he also warns that patients with more severely recessed chins aren't good candidates for chin implants, which can result in bone erosion from pressure. An alternative is surgery to move the bone forward instead.