What Type Of Facial Reshaping Procedures Do I Need?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in facial reshaping surgery. I can not figure out what my face needs to look better. I’d really appreciate you taking your time for this. I have been given different surgery options from doctors here in Australia. However my opinion is that the best doctors are located in America, especially for facial surgery. It has been recommended to me that I have cheek implants, buccal lipectomy and a chin implant. But I want to know your opinion since you are regarded as one of the best surgeons in the world for facial reshaping surgery.

A: In looking at your pictures, your facial reshaping/restructuring goal would be to shorten your longer face and provide some more central projection. You have a more flat paranasal/midface and thus you have to be careful with how you change things to not look worse. I would recommend the following:

1) Chin augmentation but by sliding genioplasty as your chin needs to come forward but should become vertically shorter not longer. (implants tend to make the chin longer or at least neutral in vertical length)

2) Malar/Submalar implant augmentation with emphasis on providing with anterior projection not so much width

3) Avoid a buccal lipectomy. That would be one of the worst things you can do to a face that already lacks projection and could easily end up looking gaunt.

4) Paranasal augmentation to build out the base of the nose and the maxilla. This complements what the dimensional changes of the cheeks and chin and avoids ‘leaving the area between the two behind’.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana