Can I Get A Custom Jawline Implant After Orthognathic Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had class 3 orthognathic surgery when I was a teenager – my lower jaw was moved backward and my upper jaw was moved forward. A sliding genioplasty was also performed at the same time. I’ve since fully recovered. I suspect this may have left me with excess fat deposits under the neck which could be removed. I also suspect I never had a particularly well developed lower jaw to begin with. My questions are:

   – Do you have experience with lower face surgery on prior orthognathic patients?

   – I suspect the visual change, at lease in profile, from improving the neck/jaw angle would be significant. Is it possible/advisable to try to project this along with additional procedure(s) (e.g. jaw implants)?

A:Thank you for your inquiry, sending your pictures and detailing your objectives. I have done lots of orthognathic surgery in my career but have undoubtably have done more post-orthognathic surgery jawline reconstructions and aesthetic jawline augmentations. Orthognathic surgery is a functional occlusal operation that can have some aesthetic benefits as well but which are relegated primarily to the sagittal plane. (side view) I have seen many after orthognthaic surgery patients with altered jawlines from sagittal splits and sliding genioplasties as well as jawlines that lack definition and width particularly. While I haven’t seen your 3D x-rays, what counts is the objective to which I have attached one version of an overall jawline/neck change as a starting point for discussion.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana