Titanium plates and screws hold broken or reshaped facial bone still while it knits back together. Because the metal is light, strong and well tolerated by living tissue, it has become the usual way of fixing the facial skeleton.
Titanium implants in facial surgery are small plates, screws and mesh used to hold bone in the right position while it heals. They are fitted through discreet cuts, often inside the mouth, and shaped to follow the contour of the face. Most stay quietly in place for years, though a plate can be removed if it causes trouble.
Facial bone is thin in places and carries the shape of the face, so a break or a planned cut has to be held in exactly the right position while it heals. Titanium plates, screws and mesh do that job. Surgeons choose the metal because bone tolerates it well, because it is strong for its weight, and because a plate can be bent to follow the curve of a cheek, jaw or eye socket.
Sizes vary a great deal. Around the eye socket and nose the plates are barely thicker than a fingernail, while the lower jaw needs sturdier hardware that copes with chewing. Most are placed through cuts inside the mouth or hidden in a natural crease, so the metal ends up buried under muscle and skin where it cannot be seen. Screws grip the bone on either side of the break and hold the pieces together.
Once the bone has knitted, the plate has finished its main work but is usually left alone. Taking it out means a second operation, so removal is reserved for hardware that becomes infected, loose, uncomfortable or easy to feel through thin skin.
Fixation with titanium suits most people whose facial bone has to be held in a precise position. A few situations call for a different plan.
Scans and photographs are studied to see how the bone sits and where plates can go. Dental treatment needed beforehand is arranged, and the plan is talked through with you.
Most fixation happens under general anaesthesia. The surgeon reaches the bone through a cut inside the mouth, in an eyelid crease or within the hairline, so the face itself is spared.
Broken or cut pieces are eased back into the correct position and held there. Bite alignment is checked against the teeth, since that is what shows the jaw is sitting right.
A plate is bent to match the bone contour, then screws are placed on either side of the fracture line. Position is checked again before anything is closed.
Cuts are closed with stitches that usually dissolve. An X ray or scan afterwards confirms the plates and screws are where they should be.
Swelling peaks and the face feels tight. Cold packs, pain relief and a liquid or soft diet help, while gentle mouth rinses keep the stitch lines clean.
Swelling settles noticeably and bruising fades. Many people return to desk work near the end of this period, still on a soft diet.
Bone has usually knitted enough for normal food to resume in stages. Jaw exercises may be advised if opening feels stiff.
Sensation continues to recover and the plates are no longer noticed by most people. Review visits confirm bone and hardware are settled.
Most people heal with the bone in good position and the face close to how it looked before. Small differences in contour, a slight change in bite or an area of altered sensation can remain, and these are more likely when the injury was severe or treatment was delayed. Recovery can vary. Plates go unnoticed by most patients, though a few feel them under thin skin over the cheek or lower eyelid.
Fixation is a well established operation, yet it carries the risks of any surgery on the facial skeleton, and these are discussed before you agree to it.
Most of the healing happens at home, and a few simple habits protect the repair through the first weeks.
Removal is not routine. Most plates stay quietly in place, and a second operation is suggested only when hardware becomes infected, loose or troublesome.
Small titanium plates rarely trigger security gates, and staff are used to them. Carrying a note from the clinic settles the question quickly if it ever happens.
Titanium is not magnetic in the way steel is, so scans are usually still done. Tell the radiology team what you have and they will plan accordingly.
Fixation was developed to avoid exactly that. Elastics are sometimes worn for a short spell to guide the bite, but weeks of wiring is now unusual.
Facial fixation at Elegance Clinic in Surat is planned from scans and photographs before the day of surgery, and the same team follows you through healing and review.
Cost for facial fixation depends on how many bones are involved, the number of plates and screws needed, the length of theatre time and how long you stay in hospital. Because those details become clear only after examination and scans, the clinic gives a written estimate once assessment is complete. Injury and reconstruction are usually covered by mediclaim policies, and the team helps with the paperwork.
These are the questions that come up most often in consultation. If yours is not here, send it on WhatsApp and the team will reply, usually the same day.
Ask your question →Cost depends on how many bones need fixing, how many plates and screws are used and how long you stay in hospital. A written estimate is given once examination and scans are complete, so the figure reflects your own situation rather than an average.
Titanium has been used in facial surgery for decades and bone tolerates it well. Reactions to the metal are uncommon. Problems that do occur are usually mechanical or infective, such as a plate loosening or becoming infected, and both can be dealt with.
Swelling peaks in the first three days and settles noticeably over two weeks. Many people return to desk work around then, still on a soft diet. Bone usually knits by about six weeks, after which normal food is reintroduced in stages. Recovery can vary.
Most people finish close to how they looked before, particularly when treatment happens early. Slight differences in contour or a small change in bite may remain, especially after a severe injury. Your surgeon will say honestly what the scans suggest is achievable.
Most adults can. Active infection at the site is settled first, while heavy smoking or poorly controlled diabetes raises the chance of a plate becoming exposed. In growing children, fixed metal is used more cautiously because it can affect how the face develops.
Earlier treatment is generally easier, because bone begins to set in whatever position it is left. Many facial fractures are fixed within the first week or two. Older injuries can still be corrected, although the operation becomes more involved.
Expect an examination of the face and bite, a look at any scans you bring and a discussion of what fixation would involve. Photographs may be taken for planning. You leave with a written estimate and time to think before deciding.
Each technique below has its own page explaining how it works and when it is chosen.
Seeing patients from across the city and beyond: read about the practice on the plastic surgeon in Surat page, or check what a written estimate covers on the costs and insurance page.
