Will A Mentalis Resuspension Fix My Lip Incompetence?

Q: Dr. Eppley, two years ago I had jaw advancement and sliding genioplasty surgery. Although my face symmetry has improved dramatically, this surgery has left me with lower lip incompetence. There is a 5mm to7mm gap between my top and lower lip when my lips are in resting phase, and although I have no evident mentalis strain when I force my lips to close, I would like to know if anything can be done to correct this lip incompetence. I have read that mentalis resuspension can work but I am not sure if this applies to me as I do not know the source of my lip incompetence (though I suspect it has to do with the mentalis muscle). Please see a before and after picture demonstrating the change in my lower face shape/size as well as my lower lip incompetence. 

A: Any lower lip repositioning  downward after any intraoral procedure that involves an incision inside the mouth at the chin area disrupts the mentalis muscle. Whether the muscle was adequately resuspended or not I would have no idea. But when the lower jaw is advanced combined with a sliding genioplasty, the amount of soft tissue to cover over the chin may simply have become ‘inadequate’ or stretched. This is reflected in the lower lip position which is affected by being pulled downward. Whether you can overcome the lower lip position by mentalis resuspension alone is suspect. That alone is unlikely to hold the lower lip upward and reduce the incompetence. This is a problem of tissue deficiency not just one of tissue malposition. The mentalis resuspension would have to be combined with other maneuvers to have chance of success. The addition of dermal-fat graft on top of the muscle suspension and a V-Y mucosal closure would be needed to end up seeing any improvement in your lip incompetence.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana