Mentalis strain three months after 8mm sliding genioplasty. Can this be fixed? (photos)

Question

It's been three months after my 8mm sliding genioplasty. My chin is starting to show all the mentails strain that it had before I had my surgery. It's only been developing over the past week. I was told by my surgeon that a SG would get rid of this kind of thing. My chin is also off center by 2mm now (it wasn't before), but I was willing to live with it because the dimpling was gone. A follow up appt with my doc won't be for 3 more months. I'm really unhappy. Can this be fixed?

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

Dear Crackpot,Thanks for your pictures.  Typically mentalis muscle strain is due to several factors: (1) retrusive lower jaw, (2) excessive height of upper jaw and (3) possibly a retrusive chin.  A sliding genioplasty does not improve mentalis muscle strain.  You can have some BOTOX® in the area but it may be fraught with unpredictability and treatments every 3-4 months indefinitely.  You may be best served by having a consultation with an orthodontist and an oral surgeon so that your bite and jaws can be properly evaluated.  Good luck!

Brian Maloney, MD, FACS · Answer

Your whole face forms from two separate halves, giving us natural assymetries to start with. You have natural asymmetries to start with. I would expect some asymmetry after the procedure due to where you started from. You could consider filler to help fine tune your procedure. I have never heard of performing a genioplasty to treat a dimpling chin. The chin dimples are caused by a little muscle, the mentalis, which is usually easily treated with BOTOX. I would discuss your concerns with your doctor. I am sure they would be happy to see you before the three months.

Mentalis strain three months after 8mm sliding genioplasty. Can this be fixed? (photos)

Answers (2)