Secondary Chin Reduction

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a chin reduction with bone removal a long time ago. I had a large amount of tissue that ended up causing chin ptosis and I had another surgery to try to lift and remove some of the tissue. Now my chin is not drooping but it is vertically long and uneven with dimpling.With aging and early signs of jowls my lower face looks square and masculine. I’d like my chin to be shorter and more narrow. My face lifted and more oval appearing. My chin is mostly scar tissue so I’m not sure any correcting can be done. I would like to know what could be possible. Thanks!

A: Thank you for your inquiry. I would need to see pictures of your chin and face to determine what can be done. But ti sounds like all of your prior chin eduction efforts were done from an intraoral approach, resulting in chin sagging and the need for soft tissue resuspension procedures. The best approach now, and even then, is an external submental approach where the redundant soft tissue can be more effectively managed. While additional soft tissue can be removed, the chin pad dimpling is probably not improveable.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana