Chin Reduction

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am seeking a sliding genioplasty or chin reduction revision. After a sliding genioplasty 18 months ago and two bone burring operations to reverse it (6 and 12 months after the original surgery) there are still areas of bone, on either side of my chin, that were not shaved back to create my original narrow shape. I am left with a wide bulky chin, the excess skin and tissue have sagged from over the past year. Now, after my most recent operation, I have even more tissue. I am always advised to go back to the trio of surgeons who did it but after this I really do not want to. There is a huge miscommunication and when they discuss things in Spanish, in front of me, I no longer trust them. I just want to have my normal looking chin back. Do you perform this type of revision and reconstruction surgery? How often?

A: While you did not state exactly the method by which your two chin revisional procedures were done, I suspect they were by an intraoral bone burring method. While you should have had the sliding genioplasty reversed by redoing the osteotomy and setting back where it once was, intraoral bone burring was destined to create exactly what you have now…a broader flat chin with soft tissue excess. The proper solution now is a submental chin reduction technique where the chin bone can be narrowed and the excessive chin soft tissue removed.

This is a sliding genioplasty and chin reduction problem that I see and treat regularly. It would be helpful to see some picture of your chin and to know the exact details of all three of your prior surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana