Can Jaw Angle Augmentation Be Done By Cutting The Bone?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a slightly recessed chin. I want it to be more protruded and shorter. My profile angle is also weak (is there an alternative to getting implants? can bone be broken instead to wake it wider?)

 My cheekbone is also flat on the front view. I’ve had a previous consultation, the doctor said that my cheek is quite low for my age. I just want it to be more lifted and to have more angle. But the side view of my cheeks is alright for me and don’t want it to be more apparent. Only on the front view. 

i sent a pic of me smiling. i don’t like it when my cheeks elongate, they look like chipmunk cheeks….I recently had a buccal fat removal to see if it could improve my face. i would not like an implant to make them bigger…so just want a more structured and defined cheeks.

A: In answer to your questions:

1) The pnly chin option to make it longer and shorter is a vertically shortening sliding genioplasty.

2) Jaw angle augmentation can only be done with implants. No bony method can ever make the jaw angles wider or more pronounced.

3) With a flatter cheekbone on one side the options are either a small implant or fat injections.

4) There is no surgery that can change the way the cheeks look when you smile. You have probably learned this from the buccal fat removal. Smiling is a dynamic maneuver while surgery only affects structures in their static position.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana