Issaquah Nose QuestionsHow long results last, and why

Are facial implant and chin surgery procedures safe?

Implant shift, infection and the risks tied to each operation

Ask about risks by name for the operation proposed, such as an implant that shifts or an infection around it. The surgeon, the facility and your own health also shape the risk, so no general source can rate it for you. You can read about the risks and ask the right questions to weigh them yourself.

More than one operation sits behind the word implant

Chin and facial implant surgery can mean more than one operation, and each may come with its own list of things that can go wrong. Ask which operation is being proposed before you compare risks. Over the long run, the useful question is not only what could go wrong this month. It is also what could change in a year or in ten years, and what a revision would involve.

For a plain list of risks and recovery steps, the Cleveland Clinic page on chin implants is written for patients. The facial implant procedure page from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons covers the category as a whole. If you are comparing places to have surgery, it also helps to look at who runs the facility. A regional hospital's own account of its history gives context on the facility, though it says nothing about any one surgeon. A university medical program's list of facial plastic procedures shows how one surgical program describes the work it does.

Four questions that reach past the first few months

Put these four questions to the surgeon, and listen for answers that reach past the first few months:

  1. Which exact procedure are you recommending for me, and why that one?
  2. What are the risks of that procedure for someone with my health history?
  3. Where will it be done, and what happens if something goes wrong after I go home?
  4. What are my options, and what would they cost, if the result disappoints me or the implant needs attention later?

A surgeon who answers the last question clearly has thought about the long term.

The consent form as the final word

Read the risk sections of the sources above before you book, and treat your surgeon's written consent form as the final word on your own case.