Archive for the ‘Facial Implant’ Category
Facial Implants Cost
The average cost for a facial implant surgery includes anesthesia fees, facility and clinic fees, and the surgeon’s fees. The total fees for implants can range from $2,000 all the way up to $5,000 or more for two or more implants.
If the procedure is a medical necessity your insurance may cover the cost. Always make sure to ask your plastic surgeon about filing the costs with your insurance company and also ask about monthly payment options.
The technique of adding facial implants is not too hard to understand or comprehend. The surgeon will make a small incision near where the implant will be put in. The incision is usually made in a crease or inside the mouth to hide scarring from the incision. A pocket is then made in the facial tissue where the implant is then inserted and the incision is then stitched up.
Once the incision is bandaged or taped up, the stitches are usually removed within 5-10 days of the surgery. Often times these implants are done at the same time a face lift surgery procedure is being performed.
Implants come in different sizes and shapes, just like breast implants. These different sizes help to achieve different results. For example, when doing a chin implant a wider chin implant will give the face a more angular look to the whole face.
The recovery time for a surgery like this differs from patient to patient, but is not bad at all. Most people are back at work and doing their normal activities within a week. The surgery is usually an outpatient procedure and is done quickly. Results are also very permanent and add a lot of contouring to the face to make it look very pleasing looking.
Greg writes articles about Cheek Implants and for Facial Implants
Facial Implants Create a More Symmetrical Face
When someone believes that their face is not symmetrical, they have an answer. Facial implants will be used in order to improve the balance of a person’s facial features. The facial implants will be specifically designed for chin augmentation as well as cheek augmentation. There are many shapes, sizes, and types of implants that are available from various manufacturers using a variety of materials. Two of the most commonly used materials include Gortex and Silastic.
The implantation of a chin implant will take place through an incision that is approximately 3/4 of an inch long on the under side of a person’s chin. A pocket will then be created over the bone for the implant. The appropriate sized chin implant will then be placed inside this newly created pocket. Once the implant is in the proper position, the skin will be closed with sutures. Usually there is some swelling and bruising around the chin area for roughly a week up to ten days following this cosmetic surgery procedure.
The implantation of a cheek implant will take place through an incision created by the plastic surgeon placed inside the mouth just above the patient’s front teeth. He or she will then create a pocket under the upper lip. The correct sized cheek implants will then be placed inside each of these pockets. Once they have been positioned, the skin will be closed with dissolvable sutures, which will fall out in roughly five to six days. After the cheek implants have been properly placed, it is rare that they will move or migrate. Swelling in the cheeks will last from two to three weeks; however, some mild residual swelling may take place up to two to three months after the procedure takes place.
Another plastic surgery procedure that will help create a more symmetrical face is ear pinning or otoplasty. Some people will be born with prominent ears that will tend to stick out from the sides of their head. Many times this will occur because the folds in the cartilage of the ears have not developed properly. This surgery will be performed to correct this asymmetry. Many adults will wear their hair longer in order to cover up their prominent ears. Also, many women will refuse to wear their hair up because of their prominent ears.
This plastic surgery procedure will take around one hour to perform. The technique that is used will usually be an incision that is about an inch and a half long in the crease behind the ear where the cartilage is exposed. The fold will be re-created if this is needed, and the cartilage will be secured to the back of the head. Precise measurements will be taken so that both ears will protrude from the head approximately twelve to fifteen mm after the surgery is finished. Both dissolvable and permanent sutures will be used in order to help maintain the new shape of the ears. The dissolvable sutures will likely fall out about a week after the surgery.
Nick Piepenbrok writes about plastic surgery in Seattle, Washington and facial rejuvenation plastic surgery procedures like chin augmentation, cheek implants, and ear pinning.
Facial Implant Information
Facial Implant is the medical terminology for what most people refer to as facial cheek implant, facial prosthetic implant, facial implant surgery, and facial implants.
In this procedure the goal is to correct and change the shape and balance of the face using formed implants to build up a diminishing chin, add distinction to cheekbones, or reshape the jaw line.
Length and details of the Facial Implant procedure
The length of operation typically runs 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Patients are usually given a general or local anesthesia, with sedation.
Most Facial Implants procedures are routinely outpatient with some cases requiring an overnight hospital stay.
Risks and/or complications related to a Facial Implant procedure
In a Facial Implant surgery the patient may experience potential side effects consisting of temporary discomfort, swelling, bruising, numbness and/or stiffness in the lower facial areas. If the procedure includes surgery to the jaw, a patient may experience the inability to open fully open their mouth for several weeks.
In addition there are other associated risks with this procedure that include the risk of shifting or inexact positioning of implant, infection, excess tightening and hardening of scar tissue in the region of the formed implant.
Patients may return to work in approximately 1 week. Those involved in sports or other physical activities should avoid activity that could jar or bump face. Individuals will be able to resume these activities in approximately 6 weeks or more.
Long-term results of a Facial Implant procedure
In this procedure the end results are usually permanent.
How much does a Facial Implant procedure cost?
The national average for cheek implants is approximately $2,300
Will my insurance cover a Facial Implant procedure?
Because a Facial Implant procedure is considered an elective procedure, insurance usually will not cover the operation. However in some cases such as reconstructive surgery it may be medically necessary, your health care insurance may be able to cover the costs.
Read more about Facial Implant Information and its benefits. Alan Hood is a contributing writer at http://www.houstonmedcenter.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Hood
What Materials Are Used For Facial Implants
While many types of implant materials have been tried for use in the face, only a limited few have enjoyed a history of good clinical success. Today’s facial implants are composed of the synthetic polymers dimethysiloxane (silicone), polyethylene (Medpor), polytetrafluoroethylene (Gore-tex), and polyester (mersilene).
The use of solid silicone rubber (solid, not liquid silicone) have been used as facial implants material for nearly four decades. Silicone implants are by far the most type that are used in the face. Silicone is a essentially a form of plastic created from interlinking silicon and oxygen into a compound known as dimethylsiloxane (SiO(CH3)2) . Its chemical advantage is that it is very resistant to breaking down to the very strong and stable silicon-oxygen bonds. When converted into a polymer and vulcanized, a solid silicone rubber which is elastic and very flexible is formed. When shaped into a facial implant, it has the advantages of ease of placement through small incisions due to its flexibility, can be easily cut and shaped if necessary during surgery, and are of low cost.
Like the material used in coats and shoes, Gore-Tex has been used as a facial implant since 1994. It has been used as more traditional shaped implants for the cheeks and chin as well as soft tubes to be used right under the skin as a soft tissue filler. Gore-Tex is really polytetrafluoroethylene, a fluorocarbon which has a carbon ethylene backbone to which is attached four fluorine molecules (PTFE). The bonding of highly reactive fluorine to carbon creates an extremely stable biomaterial which the body can not break down due to the lack of any known human enzyme to disrupt the fluorine-carbon bonds. The material is extremely flexible and is easily cut and shaped. The fabrication of Gore-Tex results in small interconnected pores on its surface and throughout the material which may allow for some tissue ingrowth. The advantage of tissue ingrowth is probably more theoretical than of any practical significance.
Medpor, known chemically as polyethylene (PE) has been used in the face for over a decade. It is different than Gore-Tex (PTFE) as it has no fluorine molecules in it. The chemical structure may be simple but it has a very firm consistency that makes it the hardest facial implant used. It comes in different facial shapes and sizes and, although it can be shaped, it is not easy. The material does have small channels through it which allows for tissue ingrowth into it. That makes it harder to remove if necessary due to the sticky scar.
Mersilene is a knitted plastic mesh material most commonly used to fix abdominal hernias. It has been historically used in facial surgery where it has been used as a chin implant. The mesh material is rolled onto itself, shaped, and then sewn together to create the implant. Because the implant is a mesh, it has lots of holes in it for tissue ingrowth. The few surgeons who use mersilene do it because they like to fashion their own implants and can do so at a lower cost than buying other off-the-shelf implants.
Your plastic surgeon may use any of these materials for your facial implant surgery. While silicone rubber is the most commonly used, all other materials are acceptable and very well tolerated by the face. Tissue ingrowth into facial implants with pores or channels, while theoretically appealing, has not been proven to offer any advantages over completely solid silicone rubber implants.
Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Barry_Eppley
Implants for Facial Enhancement
In the pursuit of improved facial balance and shape, the use of solid facial implants is a simple and proven method. While there are facial implants made from different materials that can be used, the use of solid silicone (rubber) chin, cheek, nose and jaw implants are by far the most commonly used. They are soft, flexible, and slide easily into place on top of facial bones. These type of facial implants are placed deep to the skin down at the bone level. Since they are solid, not gel-filled, there is no risk of implant leakage or breaking. All facial implants can be inserted through very discrete incisions that often leave no visible scars on the face. While any implant (foreign-body) has some risk of infection, facial implants infection is quite uncommon.
Enhancing the chin with an implant is the most commonly performed facial implant procedure. With a small incision under the chin, a chin implant can be easily put into place, bringing the chin forward so that it is in balance to the nose and lips. Unlike the old style ‘button’ chin implant, there are many different styles of chin implants today. From curved styles to a more box shape, to those chin implants with a central dimple, there are many options to custom tailor a chin implant to fit most patient’s faces. Usually the chin implant is sutured into place, a metal screw can be driven through the implant to the bone. This screw fixation method can eliminate one of the very few complications of chin implants, that of shifting or changing position after surgery causing chin asymmetry. Chin implants are commonly in conjunction with other facial procedures including rhinoplasty, neck liposuction, and facelifts.
Cheek implants also have a variety of styles, allowing fullness to be gained over the prominence of the cheekbone, filling out the hollow underneath the cheekbone, or allowing more fullness to be gained up to the side of the nose. By going through the mouth under the upper lip, there is no facial scarring. Cheek implants help bring fullness to a flat cheeks, help camouflage a prominent nose, or restore facial fat atrophy lost in HIV disease. Metal screw fixation seems to be of particular importance as the cheek implant is really sitting ‘on the side of the cliff’ so to speak and, therefore, is more prone to the risk of moving out of place after surgery.
Jaw implants of the mandibular (jaw) angle are relatively new. Jaw implants are designed to ’square’ the face at the jaw angle for a more masculine look or to correct facial asymmetry if jaw development is different between the two sides of the face. Swelling and recovery after jaw angle implant placement is greater than with chin and cheek implants as the big chewing muscles must be lifted up to put the jaw angle implant in place. This causes some soreness in opening the mouth for several weeks after surgery.
In some cases, the use of different implants in the same patient, such as a chin and jaw angle implants in a male, can provide dramatic changes in one’s facial appearance. Facial implants are a powerful tool, that is simple and usually uncomplicated, to achieve facial enhancement.
Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Barry_Eppley