Is plate removal surgery after facial contouring really necessary?

Plate removal surgery after facial contouring (chin advancement case)

Plate removal

after facial contouring surgery

(Advencement genioplasty case)

This is the patient I explained in the post in the “Facial Contouring Surgery → Chin Surgery” folder, titled “<Chin Advancement Surgery After Removal of a Microgenia Implant>,” where a specialist provides an explanation.^^

This patient had a chin implant inserted 11 years ago.

However, due to bone erosion, the chin implant was removed.

Because the volume of the chin was still aesthetically lacking,

about 11 months ago at Midline Plastic Surgery,

the patient underwent facial contouring chin advancement surgery.

This time, the patient came in to have the pins removed

that were used to fix the bone during the contouring surgery.

Although this is a case of pin removal after contouring surgery in our clinic,

the method for removing fixation pins, wires, and so on from contouring surgery performed at other plastic surgery clinics is the same,

so I think this will also be helpful as a reference.

Chin advancement after removal of the microgenia implant

I will explain whether removal of contouring fixation pins, which are not visible from the outside,

is really necessary,

and also walk you through the surgical process.

First, if you are considering contouring fixation pin removal surgery,

I recommend having it done 6 months after surgery, once the bone has fully fused and scar tissue has loosened,

within 1 to 2 years after the operation.

Today’s patient was about 11 months out,

so the timing was just right.

During chin advancement / chin with bone erosion (fluorescent light green arrow)

When we looked at the bone condition before chin contouring surgery,

there had been quite a bit of bone resorption

because the implant had been pressing on the bone for a long time.

So when fixing the plate (pin),

I remember it took a little longer to align the level difference.

^^;;

Removal of fixation pins after contouring

This is the CT taken one week after chin advancement surgery.

The part indicated by the purple arrow is where bone resorption occurred,

creating a step-off.

To remove the contouring fixation pins,

a CT scan was taken

to check the bone condition after 11 months

and then the surgical plan was made.

Plate removal after contouring

After the CT scan, we first check the bone union status,

the position of the pins,

and how much the pins are covered by bone.

The area that had previously been sunken due to bone resorption

had filled back in over 11 months,

so the step-off is no longer visible

(purple arrow).

Now that the implant, which had been applying artificial force to the chin bone, has been removed,

you can see that the bone also recovers back to its original state.

It’s fascinating how the human body works.

The bone has regenerated, but that becomes an obstacle when removing the plate (pin).

As I explained above about the timing for pin removal,

the longer the time passes after contouring surgery,

the more the bone regenerates,

and the more the pins become covered by bone and no longer visible.

When that happens, removal becomes more difficult,

and therefore takes more time as well.

There will also be a difference in the cost of pin removal.

The bone covering the screw and plate

The purple arrow marks the area where the screw should be visible,

but is instead covered by bone and not visible.

Screw removal

Since the screw head slot must be visible in order to remove it,

during surgery I removed only the minimum amount of bone covering the screw and plate.

After removing the plate

The screw and plate were removed.

The space that the plate had occupied above

will also be filled with bone before long.

Although the plate is a prosthetic made so that it can remain in the body for life

without causing problems,

it may also be removed according to the patient’s needs in various cases, such as:

1. When discomfort or pain is caused by the plate (pin)

2. When there are problems due to a metal allergy

3. When the patient does not want the surgery to become known

4. When the patient feels psychological anxiety or burden because of the pin

5. When the patient is reluctant to be exposed to radiological images such as CT or X-ray

I introduced a case in which the plate (pin) was also removed after chin advancement surgery for a patient who came in after having a chin implant removed.

<If you have any additional questions, please leave a private comment and I will kindly answer. Thank you.>

. . . . . .

Since I have never been able to provide a channel where consultation is possible,

I am posting how to add the KakaoTalk channel.

Open KakaoTalk

↓

Enter the channel name in the search box

[ Midline Plastic Surgery Clinic ]

↓

Add the channel

↓

Inquire about any questions you have

If you have any questions about plastic surgery,

you can leave a comment or contact us through KakaoTalk.

If you add us as a neighbor, you can access more facial contouring and plastic surgery information right away.

Thank you. ​