Loose skin and asymmetry after jaw surgery...will facelift help? (photo)

Question

I have had jaw surgey 3 times due to facial trauma when i was younger. The last surgery was a year ago and included bone grafts to rebuild my left joint and cheek due to condylar resorption. I still have size asymmetry between the left and right sides of my face. When I pull the soft tissue back on the left side, it looks normal. It is still very difficult for me to smile, and my upper lip does not rise on the left side. What can I do?

Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD · Answer

It would be helpful to see additional pictures of your face from different angles as well as pictures of the effects of the tissues pulling back effect that you see. The question is whether this is an underlying bone asymmetry or whether now it is a soft tissue problem due to fat atrophy/deficiency...or some combination of both. The smile stiffness and upper lip weakness suggest a buccal nerve weakness.

Louis C. Cutolo, Jr., MD, FACS · Answer

Thanks for sharing your story. The asymmetry can be caused
by a combination of bone resorption, fat resorption, scar tissue, usual facial
asymmetry, and skin and scar contracture. Your inability to move your upper lip
suggests a facial nerve issue. Three-dimensional CAT scans can help reveal the
causes of the asymmetry and help delineate the types of treatments needed for
correction. Talk to an experienced facial specialist about whether a facelift
or other procedure would be best. Good luck.

Darryl J. Blinski, MD · Answer

Interesting question but the posted photo is really not demonstrating the issues you speak about. Best to ONLY seek IN PERSON opinions. Fillers/fast grafting might help...

John Frodel, MD · Answer

After trauma and multiple surgeries, facial soft tissues can be thin out and droop.  It's possible that facelifting and soft tissue augmentation procedures could be very helpful.  I encourage you to seek out a surgeon with experience with such post-traumatic issues, as they are a bit more complex than the treatment of aging facial tissues alone, due to scarring, tissue wasting, bone asymmetries, etc.

Loose skin and asymmetry after jaw surgery...will facelift help? (photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Soft tissue surgery

Answer: Soft tissue surgery

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Loose skin and asymmetry after jaw surgery...will facelift help? (photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Soft tissue surgery

Answer: Soft tissue surgery

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Everything you need to know about Facelift

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.