'Chinplants' are newest cosmetic surgery trend in US

The number of chin augmentations, or ‘chinplants’ as they are casually known, being carried out in the US is increasing dramatically, new figures are showing.

According to data released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the popularity of the cosmetic surgery procedure rose by 71 percent in 2011 to 20,680, from just 12,077 the year before.

However, despite the rapid growth in the popularity of ‘chinplants’, the procedure remains relatively rare in comparison to other types of plastic surgery.

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Liposuction was revealed to be the most common type of plastic surgery, with over 325,000 procedures in 2011, and breast augmentations came second; there were more than 316,000 boob jobs last year.  

Experts in the field believe one of the main reasons people are going under the knife to improve their jawline is to look good during work-related video conferences.

“The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging,” says Dr Malcolm Roth, the President of the ASPS.

“People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery.

“We also know that as more people see themselves on video chat technology, they may notice that their jawline is not as sharp as they want it to be.”

Software company manager Lizette Stephens is one of the thousands of Americans who underwent a chin augmentation last year.

“I do a lot of video chats and I'm in a lot of photos and noticed that my double chin was very pronounced.

“It really, really bothered me,” she said.

“I wanted to do something about it to get a more profound profile and more definition in my chin area.”

Meanwhile an ASPS Member Surgeon based in New York, Darrick Antell, explained: “We know that CEOs tend to be tall, attractive, good-looking people.

“We now know that these people also tend to have a stronger chin.

“As a result, people subconsciously associate a stronger chin with more authority, self-confidence and trustworthiness,” he said. 

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