Genioplasty Regret / Trying to Get a Revision
Genioplasty Regret / Trying to Get a Revision
I had a genioplasty of 7mm advancement a month ago and its been by far the biggest mistake of my life. Let me start by saying that the Doctor didn’t do a bad job, actually it looks “aesthetically right” so why do I hate it? I loved the way my face looked from a front view and actually I loved my face BUT I saw a couple of pics from a side view and I didn’t like how my profile looked. I found a great plastic/maxillofacial surgeon in Colombia and I decided to get a chin augmentation. I told about 10 people about what I wanted to do and 10 people told me not to do it but of course I was stubborn and I thought I could prove them wrong and I could show them that my face was going to look better.
I’m going to skip the part of talking to the surgeon and the images he photoshopped of my profile, etc. If you want to know about this let me know. When I woke up from the surgery it was basically painless except for having a sore throat and it was almost 100% painless to this day. But then I saw my face and thought WTF have I done? I immediately started crying. What they DONT tell you:
1. Your lower lip will look smaller not only because of the swelling but because the incision is inside your mouth on your lower lip and also because your skin is stretched.
2. Even if they don’t move your bone vertically the fact that they move your bone forward will make your face look longer (something I didn’t know).
Now… as I said before I loved my face and my smile before, I didn’t want to change how it looked from the front view but I didn’t know it was going to change soooo drastically. Now my face looks long and masculine and I look like a witch specially when I smile. I’ve cried almost every day since I saw my face. Almost all of the swelling is gone now and I can’t stand to look at myself in the mirror anymore. I look at my old pics, my old face and i feel terrible because i did this to myself. I’ve been trying to find information on how to reverse it but every surgeon has a different opinion. My surgeon said it’s possible to reverse it but I should wait at least 5-6 months because we need to let the mentalis muscle and the scar inside my mouth heal properly. Other surgeons say it’s better to reverse it between 6weeks and 3 months since the bone is not fully healed yet. Some say it’s a very hard procedure to do (reversing it because of chin pad or soft tissue sagging) so I don’t know what to do. I’m completely destroyed, I try not to think about it but it’s hard because just the fact of speaking reminds me of what I did since I can’t speak like before since my mouth feels so tight
It’s been almost 3 months since my genioplasty
Replies (5)
I did my surgery with a maxillo surgeon. I don't know if I should consider a facial plastic surgeon for the revision. Do you have any thoughts about the pros and cons of a maxillo vs. a face plastic surgeon for this surgery?
I'm not looking to fully reverse it but to make it shorter on the front view - like it was before - but without losing totally the projection - maybe only by 2-3mm.
I will wait to be at least 4 months before doing more revision consultations. I think I will consult 2 maxillo surgeons and 2 facial plastic surgeons.
The one I'm feeling the strongest is one who also performs facial feminization surgery. I hope he'll have an eye to understand how this long chin created an unbalance to my face and made it too long and a bit masculine.
I've tried to explain this to my family like this: Imagine you go to a surgeon to get bigger breasts. You want them to be a slight big, not so much that is very noticeable. The surgeon tells you, ok, we'll use X breast size that will do what you want. (You don't know much about breast sizes so you say yes because you think it will be what you wanted). Then you wake up to a size way bigger than what you wanted and with time, even after the swelling has subsided, your breasts are still way larger than what you wanted and you don't feel comfortable AT ALL with that size even when EVERYBODY tells you it doesn't look bad. Well... that's how I feel but with my face
It takes a highly skilled surgeon to pull off a successful sliding genioplasty. Be careful about going with recommendations to shorten the chin as opposed to doing a setback, however. Many surgeons do not acknowledge that the angle of the bone cut is what causes this type of elongation, causing the advancement to go forward and down diagonally as opposed to forward on a horizontal plane.
Replies (5)
Also, I think I had too much advancement - 8mm. From my research after the procedure, I didn't find anyone who advanced more than 6mm. A surgeon even mentioned that he doesn't advance more than 6mm because it looks artificial and fake.
My chin is now long and too squarish, which makes my face to look too long. When I smile, the chin projects even more and I look like a witch. Also, my smile is tight and weird. NO ONE made any compliment or told me that I look any better. My friends just nod when I complain and make no comments. My husband couldn't look at me for a whole week. I look like Mr. Incredible, the carton character. It's dreadful.
In two days I need to go to back work and I don't know how to face people.
She told me it'd be a subtle change and people would just think I look better but wouldn't be able to identify why. Guess what? I do not look better and people are all asking what I did on my chin.
I'd like to reverse it 2-3 mm. I wonder if chin should also be cut shorter. But I fear having sagged skin. I so much regret doing it. I think if I had advanced it less, I wouldn't be so unhappy.
Your smile feels tight because of the advancement they made, it will start to loosen up. My swelling is almost 0 since I’m on week 6 and I still hate the way I look. I’m right now in Colombia, where I had the surgery, but i have an appointment with a maxillofacial in the US when I arrive. I will keep you posted on how things workout for me since I definitely want to reverse it but I’m also afraid of skin sagging.
And feel like it’s not easy to find people who get it.
The plan is not to break the bone again but rather trim the excess. I'm hoping for at least a 2-3mm reduction in both frontal projection and in vertical length. I'm doing it with a plastic surgeon this time.
I'm less sensitive the whole thing now but I still think that it didn't deliver what I was looking for.
Also, I still have paresthesia on the left side of my chin and lower lips, although milder.