Chin Surgery: Stories

Hi jcatz1 - as noted below I have gone on one consultation (outside my original surgeon) and he noted what I saw and said it could be corrected. I do think a re-suspension of my lower lip may be in order, however upon reflection, I don't think my mentalis muscle needs the re-suspension - I do NOT have a "witches" chin or such. The chin pad and muscle is adhered and doesn't drop down upon smiling or rest. I do feel however, that the lower lip now has more tooth show, and that will need to be addressed. I have been too busy as of late to go on more consults, but I plan to and will post of them here. Best of luck to you!

Hi SoBlah! I only took about 10 days off work...I think I had surgery on a Friday or Thurs and then had that weekend, the workweek, and the following weekend before I went back. My surgeon permitted me to eat blended foods the first day after, then soft solids for a week after, then easy to chew things later. The key is to keep your incision area clean, so you don't want to eat anything that could get stuck I'm your stitches! :-). But frequent rinsing with Listerine or another mouthwash will do that. I was still quite swollen when I returned to work... It took a good month for most swelling to resolve. I could talk normally pretty much right away. I attended a wedding 1.5 months after and none were the wiser about my even having had anything done! But I feel total swelling took about 3 months to completely resolve... But I'm a slow healer too. There was very little pain ... I think I took maybe a Tylenol immediately out of the OR.... I did get pain roughly. 3 weeks later due to one stitch which was I think pressing on a nerve or something, but that was gone after another week. Just was on antibiotics for one week... No infection or complications ... I think they say mouth area has low chance of infection anyway... That's about all I can think of for now! I hope this helps! :-)

Hi Blue333 Have you herd of Doctor Yaremchuk in Boston or Doctor Zide in NYC? I am in the same boat as you. I was harmed 6 years ago by a bad MaxFax Oral Surgeon in Orange, CA.

Hi jcatz, Sorry to hear about your trouble. I think Dr Y would be good to consult with...he's on my list and he's very good at correcting these issues. I think it can be repaired.

Hi Blue333, thanks so much for the reply. I have constant pain and tightnes in my chin and mentalis muscle which is all scarred up. My lower lip shrunk, retrouses, I have lower tooth and gum show and I cannot keep my lips closed. I was told that this is a reult of scar tissue, cause by degloving the chin, which according to Kawamoto, Dr Y and Dr Z, should never ever be done. I consulted with Henry Kawamoto in Santa Monica back in November. He recommended a Neck Lift to me. Dr Zide mentions submental fullness can result from this type of injury and I can see how this can help. Unfortunately Kawamoto retired in 12/31/12. Nonetheless, he did examine me and said he himself has tried to repair this and it is hit and miss, sometimes it works, sometimes not. He also said he has never seen one that he was thrilled about. He said he has seen this and it is a reslut of the mentalis muscle scarring wich causes it to shrink and pull down and in. When this happens, there is no way to stretch it back. I consulted with Dr Y with pics/videos I sent to him via a phone consult and he said somewhat the same thing as Kawamoto - hit/miss. He said he does about 2 or 3 of these a year and has done maybe 20-30 total. He also said it will never be as good as before the injury occured. I briefly talked to Zide on the phone and through email but did not get much info. I know of a guy in Boston who has had 3 procedures by Zide for this chin/lip repair. Some of it successful, some not successful. Zide / Yaremchuk / Kawamoto all know each other very very well by the way. I have all of Zide's articles, including the updated mentalis resuspension procdure of 2008. Dr Y has a video on this as well. I will share with you any info I have as well as my surgical history if you like as I believe sharing info can help us make the right decision and avoid makeing the wrong decision. Please let me know of any update or recommendations you have as well. Be Safe.

Hi Blue; have you had any consultations on this? when do you plan to do the procedure?

Hi Blue - I to have a messed up chin and lower lip from an oral surgeon in Orange who gave me a sliding genioplasy. He degloved my chin. I saw Henry Kawamoto in Santa Monica who is the best at sliding genioplasy. He said this was a result of degloving the chin and poor technique. He also said that this cannot be fixed. I have been miserable over this. Can you share whom you have seen for possible revision? What are your plans over this?

Hi Blue, have you done anything about getting a revision, or gone on any consults?