Are Facial Implants Right for Your Face? Bone Structure, Skin Thickness and Age Considered

She had a habit of tilting her head down in photos, chin tucked, and it took a friend’s offhand comment to make her notice it. In profile, her jaw seemed to vanish into her neck. Filler had helped for a while. Now she was sitting across from a facial plastic surgeon asking a question that sounds simple and isn’t: would an implant fix this, or was she about to spend a month recovering from the wrong answer?

The honest reply depends on three things most brochures skip past. Whether you are a realistic facial implants candidate comes down to the shape of the bone underneath, the thickness of the skin and fat on top of it, and where you are in life, from growing teenager to someone whose face is losing volume with age.

None of those is about how you feel in the mirror. All of them can be measured. That is what this explainer is about.

What are facial implants and how does the surgery actually work?

A facial implant is a shaped piece of medical-grade material placed on top of bone, under the muscle and skin, to add projection where the skeleton is flat or set back. Surgeons call these alloplastic implants, meaning made from a synthetic material rather than your own tissue. The three most common sites are the chin, the cheekbones and the angle of the jaw.

The materials fall into a few broad classes. Solid silicone implants are smooth, slide into a pocket and can be removed relatively easily. Porous polyethylene implants have a texture that allows a little tissue to grow into them, which makes them sit more firmly but also makes later removal more involved. A third group, expanded PTFE, sits between the two. Which class suits a given face is a surgical judgment, not a consumer choice, and no material is right for every patient.

The operation itself is shorter than most people expect. For a chin implant, the surgeon makes a small incision either inside the lower lip or in the natural crease under the chin, lifts the soft tissue off the bone to create a snug pocket, slides the implant into place and closes with stitches. Cheek implants are usually placed through an incision inside the mouth, above the upper teeth, or occasionally through the lower eyelid. Some surgeons anchor the implant with a small screw; others rely on the tightness of the pocket. Hospital patient guides describe cheek implant surgery as typically taking around one to two hours under general or local anesthesia with sedation (Cleveland Clinic).

What actually changes is subtle and structural. The implant does not stretch the skin outward like a balloon; it gives the existing soft tissue a taller shelf to drape over. That is why the result looks like bone rather than like a bump, and also why the quality of that soft tissue matters so much.

What makes someone a good facial implants candidate?

Surgeons tend to think about candidacy in layers, and the top layer is deceptively simple: is there a clear, specific structural deficit that an implant would correct? A chin that sits noticeably behind the lower lip in profile. Cheekbones that are flat enough that the midface looks tired even when the person is well rested. A jawline that lacks definition because the bone, not the skin, is understated. When the concern can be pointed to and measured, an implant has something concrete to do.

The second layer is medical. Facial implants are elective, so the bar for general health is set deliberately high. Well-controlled chronic conditions are not automatically disqualifying, but anything that impairs healing or raises infection risk gets scrutiny. Smoking sits near the top of that list because nicotine narrows small blood vessels and starves healing tissue of oxygen; the NHS advises people to stop smoking before any cosmetic operation and to be candid about it during consultation (NHS).

The third layer is psychological, and good surgeons take it as seriously as the other two. A realistic candidate can describe what they want in plain terms, understands that the change will be modest and permanent, and is doing it for themselves rather than to fix a relationship or a career. The NHS explicitly encourages people to ask themselves why they want a procedure and whether they are at a stable point in life before going ahead (NHS).

Only after those three layers come the anatomical specifics this article is really about: the bone, the skin and the age of the face. A person can pass every general test and still be a poor fit because of one of those, which is why the in-person examination is not a formality.

Which facial implants candidate is usually asked to wait?

Being asked to wait is not a rejection. Often it is the surgeon protecting the result. The most common reason is age. Facial bones keep growing into the late teens, and a chin or cheek that looks recessed at fifteen can look perfectly proportionate at nineteen. Placing an implant on a still-growing skeleton risks a result that drifts out of proportion. The NHS notes that cosmetic surgery is generally not offered to people under 18 (NHS).

A second group is anyone with an active problem in or near the surgical field. Because chin and cheek implants are often placed through incisions inside the mouth, untreated gum disease, dental infection or a recent tooth extraction in the area raise the risk of bacteria reaching the implant pocket. Surgeons commonly ask for dental issues to be resolved first.

A third group has a concern that a different treatment would address better. Someone whose chin looks weak because the lower jaw sits back and the bite is off may need the jaw itself repositioned, a procedure called orthognathic surgery, rather than a shell added to the front. Someone whose cheeks look hollow because of fat loss rather than flat bone may be better served by fat grafting or fillers. An implant in the wrong situation adds a shape without fixing the cause.

Finally, there is the person whose distress about a feature is out of proportion to what others can see. Body dysmorphic disorder, a condition in which a person spends a great deal of time worrying about perceived flaws that are minor or invisible to others, is described by the NHS as something cosmetic procedures do not relieve and may worsen (NHS). A thoughtful surgeon will pause here and, where appropriate, suggest a conversation with a mental health professional first. That pause is care, not judgment.

Why bone structure decides more than the implant does

Here is a way to picture it. An implant is a saddle, and your bone is the horse. A saddle only sits well if it matches the shape it rests on, and the horse does not change to fit the saddle.

Chin bone comes in genuinely different shapes. Some chins are set back but otherwise normally shaped, which is the textbook situation for an implant: the surgeon adds forward projection and the profile balances. Others are set back and too short vertically, or too tall, or tilted. An implant can add projection but cannot lengthen or shorten bone. For those shapes, surgeons may instead discuss a sliding genioplasty, an operation in which a segment of the chin bone is cut and moved forward, down or up and fixed with small plates. It is a bigger operation, but it corrects dimensions an implant cannot.

The relationship between the chin and the rest of the lower jaw matters too. If the whole lower jaw is retruded, meaning positioned behind where it should be, and the teeth do not meet properly, adding a chin implant creates a stronger chin on a jaw that still does not work well. Surgeons look at how the upper and lower teeth fit together for exactly this reason, and some will ask for an orthodontic or maxillofacial opinion before agreeing to anything.

Cheekbones raise a similar question in a different direction. Flat cheekbones can be flat across the whole arch, flat only at the front, or fine at the bone level with hollowing below them. Each calls for a different implant shape, or none. Imaging helps here; some surgeons use three-dimensional scans to see the bone free of the soft tissue on top. What they are really asking is whether the skeleton has a stable, well-shaped platform to receive an implant. If it does not, the best implant in the world sits awkwardly.

Skin thickness: the part of the exam most people never think about

Ask a surgeon what worries them most about a facial implant and many will not say infection. They will say visibility. An implant that can be seen as a distinct shape or felt as a hard edge under the skin has failed at its one job, which is to look like bone.

Skin and the thin layer of fat beneath it act as a blanket over the implant. Surgeons call this the soft tissue envelope. A thick envelope forgives small imperfections in implant shape and position; the edges blur and the transition to surrounding bone looks natural. A thin envelope shows everything. People with very thin skin, low facial fat or prominent underlying muscle definition are more likely to see the outline of an implant, especially at the cheek where the skin over the bone is already fine.

Thickness also predicts how much an implant will actually change the visible face. This is counterintuitive. In a person with a thick soft tissue envelope, the surgeon may need a larger implant to produce a noticeable change, because some of the projection is absorbed into the padding above. In a thin-skinned person, a small implant produces a big visible effect, which is a reason to be conservative rather than a license to go large.

Skin quality, not only thickness, enters the calculation. Skin that has lost elasticity with age or sun exposure may not redrape cleanly over a new contour. Scarring from previous surgery or injury can tether tissue so it does not slide smoothly over an implant. Surgeons assess all of this by pinching, pressing and watching how the skin moves when the person talks and smiles.

None of this can be judged from a photograph. It is the strongest argument for treating the physical examination as the real consultation and the online research as preparation.

Age and facial implants: growing bones, changing faces

Age matters at both ends of adulthood, for opposite reasons.

In the late teens and early twenties, the concern is growth. The lower jaw is among the last facial bones to finish developing, and a chin that looks recessed during adolescence frequently catches up on its own. Surgeons generally want clear evidence that facial growth has finished before placing a permanent implant. This is one reason many will not operate on people under 18 for purely cosmetic reasons, in line with NHS guidance on cosmetic surgery and age (NHS).

Through the thirties and forties, the face is relatively stable and the questions are mostly about bone shape and skin thickness, as described above.

Beyond that, the picture shifts in ways many people do not expect. Aging does not only loosen skin; it also changes the skeleton underneath. The bony rim around the eye socket widens, the cheekbones lose some projection, and the jaw can lose height and definition. Fat compartments in the face shrink and shift downward. Someone in their fifties or sixties who says their cheeks have “fallen” may be describing a combination of bone loss, fat loss and skin laxity.

For that person, an implant alone can be the wrong tool. Adding a shelf of projection under skin that has already slackened may accentuate the loose skin rather than lift it. This is why cheek or chin implants are sometimes discussed alongside, or instead of, procedures that address soft tissue directly, such as a facelift, fat grafting or fillers. Mayo Clinic describes a facelift as addressing sagging skin and deepening folds rather than the underlying bone (Mayo Clinic), which is precisely the gap an implant fills and the gap it does not.

The takeaway for an older candidate is not “too late.” It is that the honest assessment has more moving parts, and the plan may involve more than one approach.

Cheek implants candidate: what the midface has to offer

Cheek implants get asked about almost as often as chin implants, yet the candidacy question is harder to answer well, because the midface has more variables.

Surgeons divide cheek implants into rough zones. Malar implants sit on the cheekbone itself and add height and width to the upper cheek. Submalar implants sit just below the bone, in the hollow that appears when facial fat thins, and add fullness rather than bone-like projection. Combined shapes cover both. The right zone depends on whether the underlying deficit is skeletal, soft tissue, or both, and a surgeon will often ask a person to smile, turn and look down while feeling the bone to work out which.

The ideal cheek implants candidate has genuinely flat cheekbones on a face that is otherwise balanced, with enough skin thickness to hide the edges and no significant sagging of the tissue below. That combination is more common in younger and middle-aged adults than in older ones.

Two anatomical features deserve particular attention. The infraorbital nerve, which supplies feeling to the cheek, upper lip and side of the nose, exits the bone just below the eye socket, close to where a malar implant sits. Implants are shaped and placed to avoid it, but temporary numbness in that area is a recognized effect of surgery near it. The second is the sinus: the maxillary sinus lies behind the cheekbone, and surgeons plan the pocket to stay clear of it.

Hospital patient guides list swelling, bruising, temporary numbness, infection, implant shifting and asymmetry among the recognized effects and risks of cheek implant surgery (Cleveland Clinic). Because cheeks are paired and the eye is unforgiving of even small differences between two sides, asymmetry is the outcome cheek implant surgeons plan hardest to avoid, and a person with pre-existing facial asymmetry needs a frank conversation about what can and cannot be balanced.

Chin implant risks and the downsides of a cheek implant, honestly

People searching “how risky is a chin implant” usually want a number. The honest answer is that risk depends on the site, the technique, the material, the surgeon and the patient, and that the mainstream medical description of chin implants is of a relatively contained operation with a specific, well-understood list of things that can go wrong.

Infection heads that list for any implant, because a synthetic material has no blood supply of its own and bacteria that reach it are harder for the immune system to clear. An infected implant sometimes has to be removed and replaced later once tissue has settled. Placement through the mouth, with its resident bacteria, is one reason surgeons take antibiotic precautions and ask for good dental health beforehand.

Shifting or malposition comes next. An implant that migrates even a few millimeters can look off-center or rotate. Some surgeons fix implants with a small screw to reduce this.

Chin implants carry two site-specific concerns. The mental nerve, which gives feeling to the lower lip and chin, exits the jaw on each side close to where an implant sits; stretching or pressure can cause numbness that is usually temporary but occasionally lasting. And bone underneath a chin implant can slowly thin over years, a process called resorption, as the implant presses on the surface. In most cases this is a small, stable change, but it is one reason surgeons monitor over time.

The downsides of a cheek implant overlap with these and add a few. Cheek implants sit under thinner skin, so visibility and palpability are more common concerns. Asymmetry is harder to hide. Numbness affects the cheek and upper lip via the infraorbital nerve. Rarely, an implant placed too high can disturb the lower eyelid position.

Neither list should read as alarm. It should read as the content of a proper consent conversation, which is where your surgeon will put figures to it based on their own practice and the published literature.

Facial implants vs fillers, fat grafting and bone surgery

Most people asking about implants have already tried, or been offered, something else. The comparison below is not a ranking. Each approach solves a different problem, and the right one depends on whether the deficit is bone, fat or skin, how permanent a change you want, and how much recovery you can accept.

Approach	What it adds	Best matched to	Permanence	Main trade-offs
Alloplastic implant	Firm, bone-like projection	Clear skeletal deficit with adequate skin thickness	Intended as long-term; removable	Surgery and recovery; infection, shifting, visibility; bone thinning under chin implants
Injectable filler	Soft volume	Mild deficit; fat loss; wanting to preview a change	Temporary; gradually absorbed	Repeat treatments; less structural; rare vascular complications
Fat grafting	Soft volume from your own tissue	Hollowing from fat loss, often with aging	Variable; some grafted fat does not survive	Unpredictable retention; may need repeat sessions
Genioplasty or jaw surgery	Moves the bone itself	Chin or jaw that is misproportioned in height, position or bite	Permanent	Larger operation; longer recovery; requires specialist team

A pattern worth noticing: fillers are frequently used as a rehearsal. A surgeon may suggest a person try filler in the chin or cheeks first, live with the shape for several months as it fades, and then decide whether a permanent version is wanted. The reverse logic applies too. Someone who has relied on filler for years and is tired of repeat visits often turns out to be a reasonable implant candidate, provided the underlying deficit is truly skeletal.

The comparison a surgeon cares most about is between an implant and doing nothing. If the change would be barely perceptible to anyone but you, the calculus of risk versus benefit shifts, and a good surgeon will say so.

How long do facial implants last?

Facial implants are designed to stay in place indefinitely. The solid and porous materials in common use do not degrade or need scheduled replacement the way a temporary filler does, and hospital patient guides describe cheek implants as a permanent treatment intended to last a lifetime (Cleveland Clinic). That phrase deserves unpacking, because “lasts a lifetime” and “never needs attention” are not the same thing.

The implant may be permanent; the face around it is not. Over decades, bone continues to remodel, fat continues to thin, and skin continues to loosen. An implant chosen for a face at thirty-five sits on a different face at sixty-five. Most people find the change gradual and acceptable, in the same way they accept other signs of aging. A minority decide later that the implant now looks too large, too small or slightly off, and choose revision or removal. This is not failure of the implant. It is the ordinary mismatch between a fixed object and a changing body.

Removal is possible with all common materials, though the ease varies. Smooth silicone implants sit in a capsule of scar tissue that the body forms around any foreign object, and can generally be slid out through the original incision. Porous implants, into which tissue has grown, take more dissection to free. This difference is one of the factors surgeons weigh when choosing a material for a younger person who has many decades of facial change ahead.

Two things can shorten an implant’s useful life. Infection, discussed above, sometimes requires removal. And the slow bone thinning under a chin implant, if unusually pronounced, can let the implant settle and change the contour. Both are reasons for periodic follow-up rather than reasons to avoid the procedure.

If you are weighing the question of longevity, the most useful reframing is this: an implant is a long-term decision about your skeleton, made with a surgeon, and it deserves the same seriousness as any other long-term decision.

What the first days and weeks usually look like

Recovery from a chin or cheek implant is usually described as uncomfortable rather than painful, and the discomfort is dominated by swelling and tightness rather than by the incision.

In the first few days, the face feels stiff and looks puffy, and the area over the implant is often numb or tingly. Bruising varies with the person and the placement; cheek implants placed through the lower eyelid can bring bruising around the eye. Hospital patient guides describe swelling and bruising as peaking in the first few days after cheek implant surgery and note that many people feel able to return to work or normal daily activities within around one to two weeks, with residual swelling continuing to settle over several weeks (Cleveland Clinic). Those are typical ranges from patient information, not guarantees for any individual.

If the incision is inside the mouth, the early weeks involve a soft diet, gentle rinsing after eating and care not to disturb the stitches with a toothbrush. Some surgeons apply a compression dressing or tape over a chin implant for the first days to keep the pocket snug while it heals. Sleeping with the head elevated is commonly advised to limit swelling.

Numbness is the symptom that unsettles people most. Sensation in the lower lip after a chin implant, or the cheek and upper lip after a cheek implant, typically returns gradually as stretched nerves recover, and surgeons generally ask for patience over weeks to months before judging whether any numbness is lasting.

Strenuous exercise, contact sports and anything that risks a knock to the face are usually restricted for several weeks, because the implant is held in place by the healing pocket rather than by bone. Your surgeon sets those timelines for your operation. The result itself takes longer to judge than people expect: the contour you see at two weeks is still swollen, and the shape at three months is closer to the truth.

What people often get wrong about facial implants

“An implant will make my face look bigger.” Usually the opposite. A recessed chin makes the nose look larger and the neck look shorter; adding modest projection often makes the whole face read as more balanced, not more prominent. The goal is proportion, not size.

“If I can afford a bigger implant, I should get one.” Larger is not better. Oversized implants are the leading reason people later seek removal, and thin-skinned faces in particular show every extra millimeter. Surgeons who spend a long time measuring are usually planning to be conservative, and that is a good sign.

“A chin implant fixes a weak jawline.” Sometimes. But if the whole lower jaw is set back and the teeth do not meet properly, the problem is skeletal position, and the honest answer may be jaw surgery, orthodontics or both. A chin implant on a misaligned jaw adds a feature without fixing the function.

“Implants are the same as dental implants.” They are unrelated. Dental implants are titanium posts screwed into the jawbone to hold artificial teeth. Facial implants sit on top of bone to change contour. The candidacy questions, risks and specialists involved are different, though good dental health matters for both.

“Fillers do the same thing without surgery.” Fillers add soft volume and fade over months. They are an excellent way to preview a change and a reasonable long-term option for mild deficits. They do not create a firm, bone-like edge, and repeated large volumes over years can stretch tissue. Neither is superior; they answer different questions.

“Once it’s in, it’s done forever.” The implant may last; the face changes around it. Follow-up matters, and revision or removal later in life is a legitimate choice, not a failure.

“Numbness afterward means something went wrong.” Temporary altered sensation near the mental or infraorbital nerve is a recognized, expected part of recovery. Lasting numbness is uncommon and is exactly what follow-up appointments are for.

Questions to ask your care team

The consultation is the most important part of the process, and the quality of the questions you bring shapes the quality of the answers you get. The NHS recommends asking about the surgeon’s training, how often they perform the specific procedure, what will happen if something goes wrong and what aftercare is included, and it advises taking time to reflect before committing rather than deciding on the day (NHS).

Beyond those basics, these questions get at the specifics of candidacy:

• Is my concern mainly bone, soft tissue or skin, and how did you decide that?
• Would a temporary filler help me preview this change before committing?
• Is there a bite or jaw-position issue that means jaw surgery or orthodontics would serve me better than an implant?
• How thick is my skin over the planned site, and how does that affect the implant size and shape you would choose?
• Which implant material are you recommending for me, and what are the trade-offs of that class for removal later?
• Will the implant be placed through the mouth or through the skin, and why?
• Which nerves are near the implant, and what changes in sensation should I expect?
• What does bone thinning under a chin implant mean for me over the long term?
• How will you manage my existing facial asymmetry, and what can’t be corrected?
• What would make you advise against surgery for me?

That last question is worth asking directly. A surgeon who can answer it clearly is thinking about your outcome rather than the operation. The NHS also suggests checking that any surgeon is registered with the relevant national regulator and that the facility is properly licensed (NHS). Bring someone with you if you can; a second pair of ears catches what nerves miss. And notice how you feel walking out. Feeling informed and unhurried is a better sign than feeling excited.

When to call your doctor

Most recovery from facial implant surgery is uneventful: swelling, bruising, tightness and patchy numbness that improve week by week. A few signs are different in kind and should prompt a same-day call to your surgical team, or emergency care if you cannot reach them.

Call promptly for increasing rather than decreasing pain after the first few days, especially if one side is worse than the other. Redness that spreads, warmth over the implant, thick or foul-smelling discharge from an incision, or a fever are signs of possible infection and need assessment quickly, because an infected implant is treated more successfully the earlier it is caught. Sudden, tense swelling on one side within the first day or two can indicate bleeding into the pocket, which sometimes needs to be drained. A wound inside the mouth that opens or a chin incision whose edges separate should be seen rather than watched.

Seek urgent care for any difficulty breathing or swallowing, a rapidly enlarging swelling in the neck after a chin implant, or vision changes after a cheek implant placed through the lower eyelid.

Some later signs also deserve a call, even months on. An implant that feels as though it has moved, a visible change in the contour, a persistent area of numbness that has stopped improving, or a new tender spot over the implant all warrant review. General patient information on plastic and cosmetic surgery recovery stresses following the surgeon’s specific aftercare instructions and reporting concerns rather than waiting for a scheduled appointment (MedlinePlus).

You will not be a nuisance. Surgical teams would far rather hear about a false alarm than miss an early infection. Keep the after-hours number visible, know who covers for your surgeon, and if you are ever unsure whether something is normal, treat that uncertainty as the reason to call.

Frequently asked questions

What are the downsides of getting a cheek implant?

The main downsides are the possibility of visible or palpable edges under thin cheek skin, asymmetry between the two sides, temporary numbness of the cheek and upper lip from the nearby infraorbital nerve, infection, and shifting of the implant. Cheeks are paired and closely compared by the eye, so small differences are noticed. Most effects settle with healing, but a permanent implant is a permanent decision that may need revision as the face ages.

Who is not a good candidate for a dental implant, and is that the same as a facial implant?

They are different procedures. Dental implants are titanium posts placed into the jawbone to hold artificial teeth, and poor candidates typically include people with insufficient jawbone, uncontrolled gum disease, heavy smoking or conditions that impair bone healing. Facial implants sit on top of bone to change contour. Both require good oral health when placed through the mouth, but the specialists, risks and candidacy questions differ, so ask about each separately.

How long do face implants last?

Facial implants made from solid silicone, porous polyethylene or similar materials are designed to stay in place indefinitely and do not need scheduled replacement; hospital patient guides describe cheek implants as a permanent treatment (Cleveland Clinic). The face around the implant keeps changing with age, however, so some people choose revision or removal decades later. Infection or unusual bone thinning under a chin implant are the main reasons an implant might need attention sooner.

How risky is a chin implant?

Chin implant surgery is described in mainstream medical sources as a relatively contained operation with a specific list of recognized risks: infection, implant shifting, temporary or occasionally lasting numbness of the lower lip via the mental nerve, asymmetry, visible edges and slow thinning of bone under the implant. Your own risk depends on your health, anatomy, smoking status and the surgeon’s technique, so ask your surgeon for figures from their practice rather than relying on general numbers.

Who is a good cheek implants candidate?

A good cheek implants candidate is usually an adult whose facial growth is complete, with genuinely flat cheekbones rather than hollowing from fat loss, skin thick enough to hide implant edges, no significant sagging of the tissue below the cheek, good dental health and realistic expectations. People with thin skin, marked facial asymmetry or midface changes driven by aging may be steered toward fillers, fat grafting or a combination approach instead.

Facial implants vs fillers: which should I try first?

Many surgeons suggest temporary filler first when someone is unsure, because it lets you live with a similar shape for months before it fades and then decide about something permanent. Fillers add soft volume and suit mild deficits or fat loss; implants add firm, bone-like projection and suit clear skeletal deficits. Neither is universally better. The right order depends on what is actually causing the contour you want to change, which an examination determines.

Does skin thickness really affect whether I can get a facial implant?

Yes, and it is one of the most important physical findings in the consultation. Thick skin and fat over the bone soften an implant’s edges and make the result look like bone, but they also mute the visible change. Thin skin shows a big change from a small implant and also shows outlines and edges. Surgeons assess thickness by pinching and pressing the tissue, and it directly influences the size, shape and material they recommend.

Am I too old for a chin or cheek implant?

Age itself is not a cutoff; overall health and what is causing the contour change matter more. In older faces the bone loses projection, fat thins and skin loosens at the same time, so an implant alone may accentuate loose skin rather than improve it. Surgeons may discuss combining an implant with procedures that address soft tissue, or recommend a different approach entirely. An honest assessment simply has more moving parts later in life.

What happens if a facial implant gets infected?

Early infection is treated with antibiotics chosen by the surgical team, and some implants can be saved if it is caught quickly. If infection persists, the implant usually has to be removed, the tissue allowed to heal, and a replacement considered months later. Because synthetic materials have no blood supply, bacteria are harder to clear from them, which is why surgeons emphasize good dental health beforehand and ask you to report redness, warmth, discharge or fever promptly.

Can a facial implant be removed if I change my mind?

Yes. All common implant materials can be removed, usually through the original incision. Smooth silicone implants sit in a thin capsule of scar tissue and generally come out relatively easily; porous implants that tissue has grown into require more dissection. The skin usually settles back over the bone, though after many years it may not return fully to its original position. Removability is one factor surgeons weigh when choosing a material, especially for younger people.

References

• Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD): NHS
• Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery: MedlinePlus

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.