Can A Sliding Genioplasty Be Reversed Or Revised?

Q: I had a sliding genioplasty just one month ago in January 2011. It was advanced 8mm and I feel it was too much. I do not like how my chin looks. It is not a natural look. I also lost almost 2/3 of my lower lip which make the chin even bigger. It really has changed me a lot. I was wondering what can be done to recover the fullness of my lip. I am even considering a reverse genioplasty to bring it back to 5mm even though the cephalometric analysis says that I am short 9 mms. How long should I wait for a revision and any further interventions?

A: Now that you are roughly 6 weeks out from your initial chin surgery, most (but not all) of the swelling should have subsided. While there is some final swelling and stiffness of the chin that needs to go away in the next few months, that will only change the chin projection by maybe 1 to 1.5mms. Therefore if you feel the chin is too strong at this point, then it is and your decision to set it back some more is reasonable. A change from 8mm to 5mm is reasonable since it takes at 2 to 3mms to really see any difference. The time to make that change is NOW. The bone is not yet healed and it is a relatively easy plate and screw exchange to do the revision.

When you say you have lost ‘2/3s of my lower lip’, I am assuming you mean that you have a drooping lower lip otherwise known as lip incompetence or sag. Unlike chin swelling where time will make some of it go away, time will not lift up a sagging lower lip. This is a function of the mentalis muscle position/resuspension on the chin bone. To imrpove that situation, the muscle need to be lifted up higher in the bone and secured. This will help the lower lip get back to a more normal position. The sooner this is done the better as muscle scarring is occurring. So again, NOW is the time to revisit this with your surgeon and have these discussions.

Reversing/revising the effects of a sliding genioplasty are best done early before complete bone and soft tissue healing has occurred.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana