Who it suits
Chin liposuction works when the fullness is fat and the skin is still elastic: often people in their twenties to forties with a "double chin" that runs in the family and stays even at a healthy weight.
Liposuction is probably not for you if:
- the fullness is loose neck skin or neck bands rather than fat (a neck lift is the operation for that)
- the chin itself is set back, when a chin implant or jaw work may change the profile more
- you are still losing or gaining weight, or your BMI is well above the healthy range
- the problem is loose, hanging skin rather than fat (that needs a skin-removal operation)
- you smoke and won't stop before surgery: smoking slows healing and raises the risk of blood clots
- you are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy soon
- you hope it will change how you feel about your whole body, not one area
What happens on the day
Most chin liposuction is done under local anaesthetic, sometimes with sedation. The surgeon makes one small cut under the chin and sometimes one behind each earlobe, injects tumescent fluid, and suctions the fat with a fine cannula. It usually takes under an hour, and you go home the same day.
Recovery
You wear a chin strap or compression garment, at first day and night and later at night, for as long as your surgeon advises. Bruising and swelling peak in the first few days. Most people return to work within a week. The jawline looks sharper as the swelling goes, over several months.
Risks
Common in the weeks after any liposuction:
- bruising and swelling, which can last up to six months
- numbness, which usually settles in six to eight weeks
- small scars where the tube went in
- fluid leaking from the cuts for the first days
Less common, and the reason you want a specialist and a proper hospital or clinic:
- a lopsided smile if the nerve that moves the corner of the lower lip is bruised, which is rare and usually recovers
- lumpy or uneven results, sometimes needing a second operation
- bleeding under the skin (a haematoma)
- numbness that lasts for months
- changes in skin colour over the treated area
- infection, or an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic
- a blood clot in a leg vein, which can travel to the lungs
- fluid on the lungs from the fluid injected during surgery
- damage to internal organs, which is very rare
Your surgeon should tell you how likely each one is for you, and what they do if it happens. See the full guide to liposuction risks and side effects.
Cost
Chin and neck liposuction in Ireland costs €2,500 to €4,500: the lower end under local anaesthetic in a day clinic, the upper end in hospital. See the full price guide.
Checking the surgeon
By law every doctor practising in Ireland must be registered with the Medical Council, and a doctor can only practise independently as a specialist if they hold specialist registration. For liposuction, look for an entry in the Specialist Division under Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery. You can search the register yourself on the Medical Council's website.
Questions people ask
Is chin lipo permanent?
The fat cells removed don't come back. Ageing still loosens neck skin over time, and weight gain can add fat elsewhere in the face.
Can I have chin lipo awake?
Usually yes: most is done under local anaesthetic, sometimes with sedation.
Chin lipo or fat-dissolving injections?
Injections are a course of treatments with no cut and a smaller, slower change. Liposuction is one procedure with a bigger change and a short recovery. A doctor can tell you which suits the amount of fat.