Implication of Location of the Ascending Mental Artery at the Chin Injection Point.

[BACKGROUND] Facial proportions can be improved by means of chin augmentation in patients with a receding chin. The ascending mental artery is the main arterial supply to the top of the chin, and arterial occlusion of this artery can result in soft-tissue infarction. This study aims to measure the topographic anatomy of the ascending mental artery at the chin injection area, using a three-dimensional camera.

[METHODS] Thirty-one embalmed cadaveric faces were dissected at the chin. The midline of the inferior margin of the mandibular protuberance was marked with a pin. A variation in size between the two opposite ascending mental arteries was noticed. The depth of the artery from the skin surface and distance from the midline were measured using a three-dimensional camera.

[RESULTS] There were 19 dominant ascending mental arteries on the right and 12 on the left. The dominant ascending mental arteries enter the chin paracentrally, approximately 6 mm (mean ± SD, 5.64 ± 4.34 mm) from the midline, within the muscular plane, and at a depth of 4.15 ± 1.95 mm from the skin. Furthermore, the artery formed an anastomosis with the sublingual artery, within the floor of the mouth.

[CONCLUSION] Every aesthetic physician should recognize the course of the ascending mental artery and use the appropriate techniques to avoid vascular injury during chin augmentation using filler injections.