Chin Implant - numbness

[maryrnbsn]

I recently (6 weeks ago) had a facelift and a chin implant done. My chin area is still numb to the touch though I have shooting pains and a constant discomfort to the area. I realize that the small nerves were damaged and I understand that they need to reconnect but I'm wondering how long this awful sensation will last. Has anyone had a similar problem with a chin augmentation? It is very discouraging. My PS says it just takes time but this is not acceptable.

[Zerberbaby]

maryrnbsn; I had both a chin implant and orthognastic jaw reconstruction. The shooting pains and "buzzing" feeling do subside.

The one thing that helped me was massaging my chin. It kind of felt like a foot that had fallen asleep and the massage worked the same way.

I don't know how you feel about the results of your implant but for me, the discomfort was well worth the result!

[maryrnbsn]

How long ago did you have your surgery? It is now almost 3 1/2 months since my surgery and I still have the same discomfort. I see my PS tomorrow and I'm going to ask her to take the chin implant out. I like the look but can't stand the constant discomfort. Mary

[Zerberbaby]

Mary:

My jaw reconstruction was about 5 years ago, the chin implant approx. 19 months. I don't think that removing the implant will decrease the sensation though. My understanding is that the discomfort comes from the nerves being stretched and then recovering and healing...something that you would probably aggravate further if you had more surgery to remove the implant.

I had the most problem after the jaw reconstruction and I believe that the doctor was able to give me medication to ease it (sorry, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was), after the implant I was pretty much used to the sensation, so I did not need anything.

It drove me nuts at first too, but it should get better. It would disappear for awhile and then for some reason (I never was able to figure out what triggered it) it would start buzzing again. Both the insensity and the duration should lessen as the nerve recovers. At the time of the jaw reconstruction I also lost some sensation, it has never returned fully but the rule of thumb according to the maxofacial surgeon was that it can take up to a year for full nerve recovery.

My understanding is also if the implant was put in thru your mouth (via a cut inside your bottom lip) that the chances of nerve damage is higher than if the cut was made under the chin.

I hope that you got some relief from the Dr. today.

Donna

[maryrnbsn]

Donna, Thanks for the reply. I saw a neurologist before returning to see my plastic surgeon. He felt that the chin implant was definitely causing the problem and suggested having it removed. He also said the longer the implant was in the lower the expected recovery would be. Didn't sound at all good to be. When I talked to my PS she too felt that it should probably be removed. My implant was small to begin with and because it was bothering me so much a revision was made 2 months after the original date of implantation. At that time she revised the implant and made it smaller and removed the wings on either side. We both thought this would cure the problem but it did not. The revision was a month ago and I am still having significant discomfort. On October 20th it will be removed. Hopfully the nerves will have a chance to heal after that. My PS thinks my body may be reacting to the silicon but at this point it is just speculation. Mary