How Can The Tightness After A Sliding Genioplasty Be Fixed?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a sliding genioplasty done two years ago and my chin is still very tight. My chin feels stiff and tight and it can make talking a challenge. Is there anything I can do to try and get the suppleness and lightness back in my chin? It feels very heavy and frozen and just stiff and tight. Even my lower teeth feel tight. If I pull away the muscle in the lip away from the bone the tightness in the teeth goes. I don’t know what’s going on! Any advice?

I’ve tried steroid injections into scar ( scar looks fine ) they didn’t help and I’ve tried PRP in the scar… didn’t work.

A: What would help you immensely is an intraoral release and placement of an interpositional dermal-fat graft. Every symptom you have described is indicative of a contracture/soft tissue deficiency. Steroids and PRP are useless as this is a tissue deficiency problem primarily which subsequently results in the secondary symptoms of scar contracture. Injections will not create new tissue.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana