Blog

Some say the body is a temple, in which case the face must be its jeweled steeple. All eyes gaze upward to admire the top of any well-designed structure, as it represents the pinnacle of aesthetic excellence.

To extend this metaphor, the face is the crowning achievement of your look. You maintain it every day, keeping it lustrous and healthy, but sometimes the underlying structure needs support.

Facial implants provide volume and dimension for profiles that need a little boost. Flat cheeks, a “weak” chin, or slender jaw lines tend to dissatisfy some individuals. Dermal fillers can address many issues of deflation and aging. Serums like Juvéderm and Restylane add drama and depth to facial features, and they can last for up to two years. This provides a wonderful preview for a more permanent solution: custom facial implants.

WHAT ARE FACIAL IMPLANTS?

Facial implants are solid structures that are placed beneath the surface of the skin to enhance the shape and contours of your profile. The most common types of facial implants are made for the cheeks, the chin, and the jaw. 

Cheek implants lift the entire middle plane of the face, bringing verve and vitality to a person’s look. To achieve a strong jaw or chin, patients may desire mandibular implants. There are two types of mandibular implants: the type that enhances the chin itself, and mandibular angle implants that augment the jawline. By placing elongated implants along the ridge of the jaw, a surgeon can effectively widen the lower face. Alternately, a chin implant helps add projection to the lower face, which can help minimize the relative size of the nose in comparison.

THE EVOLUTION OF ENHANCEMENT

Implantation techniques in past years were rudimentary and inexact. They would simply place a lump of material where a patient desired more volume and that was that. But a skilled surgeon will go well beyond simple implantation to take the holistic balance of the face into consideration. For example, adding dimension to the cheeks may be a quick fix, but the wrong implants can throw off the symmetry of the entire face. Cheeks are often viewed in contrast to the nose and chin. When cheeks suddenly puff out, they may cause the chin to appear weaker or the nose to lose its character.

By customizing facial implants to the unique curves of a recipient’s face, your surgeon can celebrate your features without losing the essence of who you are. There are several ways in which implants can be customized. Typically, an existing implant is sculpted to fit the needs of the patient as it is placed in its new home. For instance, a chin implant is shaved down to the shape and size that accentuates a person’s profile before the incisions are closed.

Newer technology, however, allows for a more sophisticated approach to customizing facial implants. Welcome to the computer age…

YOUR SIGNATURE LOOK

The appearance of your face is so unique that it doubles as your fingerprint. Every time you unlock your smartphone, the lens scans your features and determines if it is, indeed, you staring back at the screen.

Since computers are able to delineate between various people’s profiles, experts turned to computer technology in order to design custom prostheses. Digital technology is able to map the globe, so think how effectively it can map something more finite like the human face.

Computed tomography (CT) scans are able to recreate the entire skeletal system in the virtual world. Advanced medical computers can go one step further and map the soft tissue and musculature of a person’s physique. Doctors can therefore study and navigate a patient’s contours without ever having to make an incision.

And the smartest doctors have figured out a way to build a better implant using the very same CT technology.

The 3D Accuscan process allows innovative surgeons to design their own implants that adhere to the contours of an individual’s face. Not an imprint of the face or a facsimile of the face, but the actual face, as it exists naturally. The exacting nature of 3D printed facial implants opens the door to a new era of cosmetic enhancement and innovation.

SUBTLETY REIGNS SUPREME

The key to a successful cosmetic surgery is subtlety. You do not want someone’s first reaction to your new look to be “Have you had work done?” Instead, you want your youthful features to shine through, which requires the eye of an artist and the hands of a skilled surgeon.

Dr. William J. Binder is more than just a doctor; he is a visionary. He helped pioneer the 3D computer approach to facial implant design and application. Because of his position at the forefront of implant advancement, he can see possibilities that others could never fathom.

For example, traditional cheek implants are placed on the malar plane of the face. This results in a pronounced “shelf” of augmentation that lacks subtlety and nuance. Instead, Dr. Binder has engineered a submalar approach that enhances the area just below the cheekbones. Submalar implants address the real issues of aging and deflation. Dr. Binder’s custom implants are designed to support weary cheeks, round out the mid-facial region, and bring harmony to the overall look of a client’s face. This is just one example of how Dr. Binder has progressed beyond outdated modes of plastic surgery to arrive at the vanguard of aesthetic excellence. 

To benefit from Dr. Binder’s unparalleled expertise and dedication to the field of custom facial implants, contact our Beverly Hills office. Your reflection will thank you!