Paranasal implant
 Maxilla (Gray, Commons). Paranasal implants sit on the piriform rim beside the nasal base, not on the cheek.
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| Field | Medicine |
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| Also known as | piriform implant, pyriform implant, paranasal augmentation
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| Related | Maxilla; Midface; Infraorbital implant; Nasolabial fold |
A paranasal implant augments the bone beside the nasal base, along the piriform (pyriform) aperture of the maxilla.[1] It is not a cheek implant and not tear trough filler. The job is central midface projection: support the alar base, shallow the upper nasolabial fold, and take a recessed nasal-base out of a convex profile. Looksmaxxing wants it when the midface is “flat next to the nose” after a strong chin or cheeks have already been built.
Stock implants are small crescent pairs (silicone, polyethylene, ePTFE). Custom pieces can blend into anterior maxilla, infraorbital rim, or a full midface envelope.[1][2] Placement is usually intraoral. Alar-base widening and a palpable edge over the canine fossa are the ordinary complaints. This is craniofacial / facial-plastic territory. See a licensed surgeon; this wiki is not a consult.
Barry Eppley writes the paranasal region as zone 3 of a three-zone midface implant (infraorbital, submalar, paranasal/piriform).[2] Off-the-shelf thickness is often in the 5–6 mm range; he notes that external projection is less than implant thickness once soft tissue settles.
Method
Described procedure, not a protocol:
- Indication — piriform retrusion, deep upper nasolabial fold from missing skeletal support, or a midface that looks dented after cheek/chin implants.
- Not the same as infraorbital implant (rim / hunter-eye talk) or buccal fat removal (hollowing).
- Bone surgery — bimaxillary osteotomy moves the whole maxilla. An implant is camouflage on the surface.
- Filler — HA at the nasal base is temporary camouflage; vascular anatomy there is not a forum drill. See vascular occlusion.
Pitfall
A bump over the canine fossa, alar flare, and a midface that still looks empty because the real deficit was Le Fort, not a 5 mm wafer. See surgical pitfalls.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Barry Eppley. Paranasal Implants – Their Role in Facial Augmentation. Explore Plastic Surgery. 7 October 2026. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Barry Eppley. Custom Implant for Midface Advancement/Augmentation – The Three Zone Concept. Explore Plastic Surgery. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 12 October 2026.