CORRECTION UNDERDEVELOPED CHIN (MENTOPLASTY)
Correction of an underdeveloped (or "weak") chin may be accomplished as an individual procedure, in conjunction with rhinoplasty, or in some instance, coincident with facelift surgery. A chin of appropriate size and configuration is necessary to achieve overall facial balance and harmony and provide a more natural and youthful appearance. The surgery may be performed under local or twilight anesthesia from the time of adolescence onward. The augmentation of the chin may be performed in one of two fashions, either by placing the implant through an incision in the mouth or by making a tiny incision in the crease beneath the chin, which is well camouflaged in this position.

For minor chin deformities, a medical-grade inert implant is utilized to increase the chin projection. This same type of material is used constantly and safely in medicine to make artificial heart valves, to repair retinal tears inside the eye, and for many other purposes in surgery of every part of the body. For major deformities of the chin, it may be necessary to modify the shape of the bone structures. For more complex operations, orthodontic or oral surgical consultation may be required. Rarely, the body may not tolerate the presence of an implant and necessitate its removal.