Joël Defrancq, DDS, MD

At 36 years old, I had always been feeling extremely self-conscious about my long and triangular chin/jawline, but especially since puberty. It had affected me to a point that I would constantly hide the lower part of my face behind scarves, even in the summer... I had gone to see 2 other surgeons before Dr. Defrancq but because this is such a highly specialised area, nobody could really help me. Also, my bite was fine so I had no need for any orthodontic treatment. What also complicated the matter was that I had a hard time exactly pointing out what was bothering me about my face, except the chin and jawline. I felt that just overall it was "off-balance" and I was hoping someone, a surgeon and expert, could finally understand what I meant without me being able to put it into words. First of all Dr. Defrancq is a wonderful man. He is very direct which can be a little intimidating in the beginning but very soon you realize that there is a lot of warmth behind that first impression, and just a general no-nonsense attitude. After speaking to him, I could immediately see that he "got it". He pointed out things that I had never been aware of, such as the fact that my upper face was lacking volume, especially my paranasal area, which made my lower face look more pronounced. I had always hated my profile but didn't know exactly why. When he pointed it out, it finally made sense. He sent me a treatment plan which included chin reduction surgery and PEEK implants for the cheeks (malar), for the paranasal area and for the jaw angles (mandibular). Everything went very smoothly and I trusted him 100%. I had the surgery in January 2021 and while the recovery was long and included a lot of swelling, it was surprisingly non-painful and Dr. Defrancq was there for me every step of the way. It has now been 6 months and the results have been life-changing. In a way it is almost overwhelming because I cannot believe that I am finally confident with my face. This weekend I even wore a turtleneck jumper for the first time in my life! (I felt I could never do that before because it really shows off your chin/jaw area) - I have attached some before/after photos. Overall, I really cannot put into words how grateful I am. Even people like my own mother and boyfriend, who were quite sceptical of me getting surgery, are amazed at how it turned out because Dr. Defrancq managed to make me still look like myself but a much improved version. Cannot recommend him enough. A wonderful man and an unbelievably skilled surgeon.