What Is The Best Option For My Sliding Genioplasty Concerns?

Q: Dr. Eppley, For my sliding genioplasty post concerns am I correct in understanding that the best options  for me are (1) a submental chin tuck with ePTFE implants or (2) total reversal of the genioplasty and placement of a new implant? Would one or the other yield better results? 

Do you have any before/after photos of option 1?

A: When you are in a complicated chin situation like yours, there really is no absolute best operative choice. It is more of a question of how much risk does one want to take for what level of aesthetic benefit. Meaning the submental approach is a lesser operation with an associated modest amount of improvement. Conversely completely reversing the sliding genioplasty with concurrent implant placement offers the most aesthetic benefits but is the bigger operation. It is all about what the patient desires. In short you can’t do a minimal operation and get more than a minimal result. Bigger operations almost always offer better results but is a bolder maneuver in a revisional patient.

What happens in other patients isn’t really going to help you decide. Just because another patient gets a certain result is no guarantee you will. In primary surgery patient pictures have more relevance because the starting point is more similar. But not in revisional surgery where each patient’s problems and anatomy are all different.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana