Why Should I Consider Custom Facial Implants?

One size fits all certainly takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation and can make your life much easier. That said, there are times when custom and tailor-made are the better choices, especially when it comes to something as important as augmenting your face with implants to meet your cosmetic vision.

In 2023, nearly 1.6 million plastic surgery procedures were performed in the United States, addressing everything from breast size to facial aging. Mixed in these numbers are patients who sought to improve or change the shape of their faces to achieve a better effect through facial implants, including cheek, jaw, and chin implants.

As a specialist in facial surgeries, Dr. Jonathan Zelken has long recognized the value of facial implants, particularly those tailored to each patient’s unique facial structure and goals. Let’s take a look at why custom facial implants rise head and shoulders above off-the-shelf options.

Implants at a glance

When we talk about facial implants, we’re talking about silicone or thermoplastic devices that we insert into areas of your face that can:

• Create more symmetry
• Augment a weak area, such as a jawline, cheek, or chin
• Change the shape of your face

At our practice, we recognize the value in certain off-the-shelf silicone implants, such as chin implants, which can help achieve a wide range of goals for the right patient.

That said, we prefer using custom implants made from advanced polymers created using a 3D printer. These thermoplastics are durable and biocompatible, and they come in two versions:

1. PEEK: polyether ether ketone
2. PEKK: polyether ketone ketone

As for which of these is better, we work on a case-by-case basis to make sure you get an implant that suits your needs perfectly.

Sculpting your vision with custom facial implants

While it might seem obvious why a custom implant is better than a one-size-fits-all option, we want to get into more detail about how we create custom implants, which will highlight their benefits.

To get started, we take a CT scan of your face. Armed with this information, we then turn to cephalometrics, which uses bony landmarks to measure aspects of your face. This entire process can take several weeks as Dr. Zelken studies your scans and makes some calculations about what shape and size facial implant will work best.

Of course, there are some historical cephalometric ideals that we plug into the equation, too. These ideals are ones that artists and sculptors have used over the centuries to create beauty.

Lastly, we look at the distribution of the soft tissues in your face, including muscles and fat, to make sure that we have the right facial implant.

From there, we sit down with you to discuss our recommendations for getting you to your dream look. While there are still some variables that prevent us from a 100% surefire guarantee, we can say that, with custom facial implants, we can get you closer to your vision than other commercially available alternatives.

For a more detailed description of facial implants by Dr. Zelken, click here to watch a video explaining the process.

Or, you can skip the video and get right to scheduling a consultation with Dr. Zelken to see what facial implants can do for you. To get that ball rolling, please call Jonathan Zelken, MD, in Newport Beach, California, at (949) 432-4730 or request an appointment using our online booking tool.