Jaw Angle Reconstruction after Jaw Reduction Surgery

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had jaw reduction surgery in Asia a year ago and I wasn’t completely happy with the results. I wished the surgeon I had chosen had been a bit more conservative with the jaw amputation of the angles.

I’m content with the width of my face but I’m wishing for some slight improvements. My face was quite round/square-ish prior to the surgery, and post-surgery my face became a lot more heart-shaped or tapered from the front view.

1. Would transforming a slight heart shaped face to a more oval shaped face require augmentation of the jaw angles from the back (the posterior amputated bone area) or involve augmentation of the angles/sides of the chin? I don’t want a dramatic change or a large augmentation, but would just like to change the curve of my faceline from the front perspective as I’m not a fan of the tapered heart face and chin. I would not like to widen my face.

Is it possible to achieve this minor/moderate vertical augmentation with hydroxyapatite or some other form of bone cement?

I had rhinoplasty back in 2012 that involved putting in a silicone implant, and I realised then how much I hated plastic materials inside of my body. I would largely prefer something known to be a lot more biocompatible. 

If you have any other suggestions or input, it would be greatly appreciated. 

A: Thank you for your inquiry. The critical question is whether jaw angle reconstruction and restoring some degree of jaw angle length would create a more oval-shaped face. Or even adding some chin width. I would have to see pictures of your face and do computer imaging to best answer that question.

But for the sake of discussion, let’s assume that it does. There is no other way to reliably augment it without using an implant. Hydroxyapatite cement can not be used to build out missing jaw angle bone.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana