Should I Have A Subtotal or Complete Reversal Of My Sliding Genioplasty?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a genioplasty to slide my chin forward 6mm about half a year ago to improve my recessed chin. Although it looks great from the side i am really not liking the effect it had on my face from the front. It seems my face looks longer and brought out its flaws and imperfections. Because of this I am considering a few options. First I was considering moving the chin back like 2mm to decrease the length it added and soften how much the shape stands out. But then I found your work and now I’m wondering if reversing the genioplasty altogether and replacing with a custom chin implant would better achieve what my goals were. One concern I have is that the custom chin implant will have the same effect of just making my face longer and having the weird shape of my face stand out. I wanted to get the your input on this idea of reversing the genioplasty and replacing it with a custom chin implant.

A: Just based on your description alone it would seem that a subtotal sliding genioplasty would be the most predictable approach to vertically shorten the chin. It seems that there would be too many variables in considering a total reversal and replacement with a custom chin implant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana