Custom titanium jaw angle implants?

[tim06]

Hi,

I have found a scientific abstract where 3d titanium implants are discussed with the following pictures:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5343643/figure/F1/

a. is before and d. is after the surgery, I think the results are really great. Do you have heard of custom titanium implants before?

It seems like they lower the risk of bone resorption since they are osseointegrated unlike the common silicon or PEEK implants.

[ppsk]

i think we've talked about this on here before

yes it seems like the ideal material. Certainly worth looking into, but I think you will find it to be significantly expensive. I can't imagine pure titanium being cheap to manufacture into custom shapes, unless its "titanium" i.e not pure at all but some sort of alloy mixture in which case that could cause issues down the track

[Lefort4Advancement]

What about using it for the entirety of the mandible/chin? Cheekbone augmentation?

Must be a reason they're not used there?

[ppsk]

What about using it for the entirety of the mandible/chin? Cheekbone augmentation?

Must be a reason they're not used there?

expensive, hard to install.

inexperienced surgeons love silicone because its easily modified and very flexible allowing them to get it through small incisions, and of course its easy to remove/replace if they f**k it up or its too large or not big enough whatever....

titanium on the other hand is expensive and  not modifiable in the surgical room and its very obviously not going to be flexible, necessitating much larger incisions and exposure to get it into the proper position....

[PloskoPlus]

expensive, hard to install.

inexperienced surgeons love silicone because its easily modified and very flexible allowing them to get it through small incisions, and of course its easy to remove/replace if they f**k it up or its too large or not big enough whatever....

titanium on the other hand is expensive and  not modifiable in the surgical room and its very obviously not going to be flexible, necessitating much larger incisions and exposure to get it into the proper position....

Pretty much this. I do wonder how it feels to have huge chunks of metal in your face with regards to weather.

[tim06]

i think we've talked about this on here before

yes it seems like the ideal material. Certainly worth looking into, but I think you will find it to be significantly expensive. I can't imagine pure titanium being cheap to manufacture into custom shapes, unless its "titanium" i.e not pure at all but some sort of alloy mixture in which case that could cause issues down the track

I contacted the surgeon who did the surgery for the female patient in the pictures and the price including implants was just €4,000. Considering I paid for my sliding genioplasty €3.800 in Germany this sounds like a reasonable price.

[Jilkster]

Wonder about the infection risk in the long run vs other materials.

[boyo]

Who's the surgeon?

[tim06]

Who's the surgeon?

Dr Natalie Loomans from Belgium, Antwerpen

[ppsk]

I contacted the surgeon who did the surgery for the female patient in the pictures and the price including implants was just €4,000. Considering I paid for my sliding genioplasty €3.800 in Germany this sounds like a reasonable price.

That's incredible but just makes me doubt the "titanium" even more... if its that cheap, it's likely an alloy mix where the % of actual titanium may only be 50%.

I dont know that for a fact however. Still, 4k euro including a surgeon's fee? Yeah doesn't pass the smell test to me.

[tim06]

That's incredible but just makes me doubt the "titanium" even more... if its that cheap, it's likely an alloy mix where the % of actual titanium may only be 50%.

I dont know that for a fact however. Still, 4k euro including a surgeon's fee? Yeah doesn't pass the smell test to me.

I also contacted the company which produces this custom jaw implants and they are from Germany, this is their website: http://www.materialise.com/en/medical/patient-specific-implants/patient-specific-cranio-maxillofacial-implants

From what I can say this is much more legit than any of the medpore or silicon implants.

[Bowie]

More legit why? They will still cause resorption of the underlying bone and the implants are porous so...

[ppsk]

i dont think you will notice any aesthetic difference to medpor..... I have medpor in my jaw right now. It feels like rock.

titanium is an ideally biocompatible material IMO but again, the things i question are: 1. titanium used as large augmentation doesn't really have an established track record... medpor does 2. is it "true" titanium or an alloy mixture? this is important to establish as having other metals mixed in really defeats the appeal of titanium (non-ferrous, no allergic reactions, no breakdown by body)

[tim06]

i dont think you will notice any aesthetic difference to medpor..... I have medpor in my jaw right now. It feels like rock.

titanium is an ideally biocompatible material IMO but again, the things i question are: 1. titanium used as large augmentation doesn't really have an established track record... medpor does 2. is it "true" titanium or an alloy mixture? this is important to establish as having other metals mixed in really defeats the appeal of titanium (non-ferrous, no allergic reactions, no breakdown by body)

Where exactly have you placed it? To widen the jaw angle? I would be really interested to see a picture of you via PM. How much have you paid for your surgery and in which country did you got it?

[ppsk]

Where exactly have you placed it? To widen the jaw angle? I would be really interested to see a picture of you via PM. How much have you paid for your surgery and in which country did you got it?

any information or pictures i give at this stage would be too premature, I'm only like just coming up on my 3rd week post op, so I'm still very very swollen.

I will make a thread on the doctor and procedures i had done soon, just want to wait a bit longer for reasons...