When Will I Be Happy with my Sliding Genioplasty??

Question

I had this procedure done a few weeks ago (3.5 weeks) and so far I am very unhappy with the results. I'm getting depressed over the way I looked and I wish I could go back in time and not have done this procedure to myself. My lower face now looks huge and I have gotten fat below my neck which I never had before. Plus my lower lip has this weird look and it is also smaller than my upper lip.

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS · Answer

Even at almost 4 weeks post-op, you still have swelling, and gravity makes this tissue fluid go to your neck. (It isn't fat, it's swelling!) Sliding genioplasty is actually cutting and plating and screwing the bone into its new position, so the bone heals just like a facial or mandibular fracture (just the surgical saw kind). This has just begun to knit up and heal, and the periosteum injury and healing process can take months to completely settle and resolve. (We see the same thing with deep plane--subperiosteal--facelifts, which is one reason I have never been a big fan of this type of facelift procedure). Unfortunately, this is also why I have never been a big fan of sliding genioplasty as a "quick-recovery" cosmetic procedure.

	Don't get me wrong; many very well-trained and experienced craniofacial-trained plastic surgeons and oral and maxillofacial surgeons perform this procedure well and get great results. It's just that this is such a "long run for a short slide" type of procedure, when an extended anatomic chin implant would give an immediate result with much less swelling down-time.

	You have every right to be optimistic that your final result will be great; you do need to understand that it may take a few months to reach that point. Talk to your surgeon; I hope this was explained to you beforehand, because now it seems more like an excuse than an explanation. Best wishes!

Thomas A. Lamperti, MD · Answer

You'll have significant swelling in the area of you lower face even 3.5 weeks after sliding genioplasty surgery. I would give it time before assessing your final result.

When Will I Be Happy with my Sliding Genioplasty??

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