Can The Jaw Angles Be Narrowed But Not Cut Off?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I can not seem to find any surgeon who performs shaving or burring of the jaw angles! They all do osteotomies of the angles and the results look awful and unnatural. Would you know why most facial feminization surgeons do not shave the jawline? They cut off the bone (angle resection) instead. I am wondering if it is a typical technique used by FFS surgeons? Because they operate men to become women so they go extreme. I am already a woman and just want a softer jaw. Would you know how many mm can be shaved off the angles? and how many mm off the jaw close to the chin? maybe it is so limited that they rather cut so they can remove 1 to 2 cms, which to me, seems a lot on a face. I wonder if I should go to a maxillofacial surgeon instead?

A: My best answer is that is just a lack of experience and knowing the different options that can be done. Also total jaw angle removal is easier to technically perform than outer cortical reduction with jaw angle preservation. It is important to apply the right operation to the patient rather than just the one operation you know to every patient. Most likely you can get about 5mms reduced from each jaw angle reduction, tapering to about 3mms behind the mental nerve.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana