Female Chin Reshaping after Sliding Genioplasty

Q: Dr. Eppley,  I’m a 32 year–old female interested in secondary chin reshaping. A year ago I underwent a sliding genioplasty which I deeply regret as it has affected my work and self-esteem. My chin prior to surgery was very pretty, just horizontally deficient. 

My chin was advanced 5mm and vertically shortened 5mm. However, it appears that it was also widened somewhat, against my wishes (there was no computer imaging done, just tracing). I have a natural V-line jaw and the new segment of chin does not blend into the narrower jawline. To make matters worse, the cut was asymmetrical so that one side veers out more than the other and at a greater distance. 

I have since used HA fillers to improve the chin and these have helped immensely. However, I have a very delicate bone structure and so rather than building up the volume to disguise the problem, I would prefer to have the width of the chin narrowed ever so slightly (at most 4-5mms). I came across this article of yours: http://exploreplasticsurgery.com/case-study-submental-chin-reduction/ and would like to have this procedure done. Would you be able to assist? 

A: From a structural standpoint when you bring the chin forward and up by definition it is going to make the chin wider due to the position of the posterior ends of the osteotomy. This was most likely not a deliberate effort on the part of the surgeon but one that was inevitable by the way the bone was moved. Narrowing of the wider chin can be done from an intraoral or submental approach although it is more effective when done from below for maximal narrowing along the chin/jawline.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana