POSTED UNDER Jaw Surgery REVIEWS
I'm Hating my Double Jaw Surgery Results - Houston, TX
ORIGINAL POST
I feel like my upper jaw was moved forward too...
pinkyy05September 15, 2014
$60,000
I feel like my upper jaw was moved forward too much and now I look like a chimp. Originally my upper jaw was supposed to be moved forward 6.3mm and my lower jaw was supposed to be rotated to the right. My doctor then changed it to 7.5mm upper jaw and lower jaw also moved FORWARD 1.5mm. I was very uneasy about this because my lower jaw was already long and I didn't want it to look longer. I have always been very insecure about that. But since I was also getting chin reduction he said it would even out. I also said I didn't want to end up looking like a chimp. He said it would be ok and I would not look like a chimp. I trusted him and now I regret it. I don't regret the surgery itself, I regret not being more firm to him about what I wanted. People kept telling me to trust my surgeon, he knows best. Well, he obviously had a different perception then what I wanted. Even though I showed him plenty of pictures of what I was expecting. He is an amazing surgeon and was recommended by many people and doctors, but I don't know what happened in my case. I know I am still swollen, but by this time most people are very happy with their results. All I see is my long jaw still there plus now a chimp-like upper jaw. I am so depressed. I talked to him about it but he says that I look fine. My sister agrees with me. I am trying to get him to do a revision. He said he can consider it but insurance will probably not approve it. I'm so upset. He told me before surgery that if something didn't go right he wouldn't charge for a revision. I don't know what to do.
I think my upper jaw should have only been moved 4-5mm forward and my bottom should have been moved BACK (not FORWARD) 2mm or so.
I think my upper jaw should have only been moved 4-5mm forward and my bottom should have been moved BACK (not FORWARD) 2mm or so.
Replies (31)
September 21, 2014
I hope you are feeling better by now. :/ I had upper and lower jaw surgery around the same time as you and am also struggling with my results and appearance, though I am trying to accept them.
However, I absolutely do not think you look like a chimp! Your after profile is lovely, and I would assume you look very pretty from a front-view as well. It is so hard, though, when people tell you that you look fine and not to be worried and depressed, and then you look in the mirror and want to cry.
I hope your recovery keeps going well and that you are happier with the results as swelling resides!
October 5, 2014
Thank you for your kind words. What was your surgery for? Overbite or underbite? And what don't you like? I am still pretty unhappt.
October 6, 2014
Hello, I am sorry you are unhappy. :( I had the surgery for a severe open bite and a tad of an underbite. I like my face at rest now (though I still have to force my lips closed), but when I'm smiling is when I feel self-conscious. It might be swelling, but my face is much more square now when I smile and looks lumpy to me. I will try to post some pics this week...I'm hoping that in a few more months I either accept it or it looks better, because I feel like I'm still seeing minor improvements.
I am thinking positive thoughts for you!
October 7, 2014
Thank you! I also dislike my smile very much. I liked my smile preop more. My surgeon impacted my upper jaw and now my upper lip covers half my teeth. Also now you can see the bottom of my upper teeth when I smile. Before my upper teeth filled my whole smile. Now it looks gappy. And since my upper was moved forward so much you my smile looks so wide, it is creepy.
September 22, 2014
You look excellent post surgery. A forward grown face with a protruding maxilla is the standard for aesthetically pleasing faces nowadays anyway.
September 22, 2014
I just had another look at that last picture... Wow.. Gorgeous. Seems to have improved your eye area (the soft tissues surrounding the eyes) aswell
October 5, 2014
Thank you for your kind words but I still feel.the same. I will be updating pictures soon. Swelling has gone down more and my undereye looks flatter now actually because of how much my jaws were moved.
September 29, 2014
Is it a joke that you're not happy with your results or did you switch before and after results? You look absolutely stunning in your after pictures and even more gourgeous in the after than you your before.
It strikes me that you cannot see how pretty you are now. This really proves that a change in your look, even for the better, is always very hard to deal with. That's why we always seem to be unhappy with our plastic surgery results.
Believe me, once you've accepted how you look, you will see what we're seeing; you're stunning!

September 29, 2014
Having hung out here on RealSelf a while, I have to agree with you, Evelynnn. Especially where people's faces are altered, some people have a very difficult time coming to terms with the change, even if it's an improvement. But many of them also don't return to RealSelf, so I'm hoping that they just moved on and got used to it and that's why they never answered our comments. :)
October 5, 2014
Hi Evelynn, thank you for your kund words. However i still feel the same way. I will be updating soon. The results are not what I discussed wuth my surgeon. I showed him plenty of results I liked and he said he understood what I wanted. And this was not it. My mom and sister agree with me. I guess it is hard to see in pictures what we see in person.
UPDATED FROM pinkyy05
3 months post
Still very unhappy
pinkyy05October 7, 2014
I haven't had time to post an update on this site and I am at work right now so I will be quick.
I'm still very unhappy with my results. It is not what I discussed with my doctor. I know a lot of people like the ante face structure but I don't. I showed my surgeon pictures of other'a results that I liked and he assured me he understood what I wanted. I got a second opinion and although this other surgeon still thinks it is too early to tell, looking at my past pictures and X-rays and comparing them to now, he did say he would not have moved my upper so much. I have an appointment with my surgeon in two days and I need to convince him to redo this. I'm so depressed. This is affecting my life so much. I cannot identify with this person I see in the mirror. I preferred my old face than this. I feel like I lost my hereditary looks as well. I used to be told I look like my mom and I don't anymore. He should have moved my upper forward only about 4mm and my lower back about 2mm. It frustrates me south to think that I waited for this all my life, all the money I spent, the torture of braces twice, and the torture post op and to be this unhappy.
I'm still very unhappy with my results. It is not what I discussed with my doctor. I know a lot of people like the ante face structure but I don't. I showed my surgeon pictures of other'a results that I liked and he assured me he understood what I wanted. I got a second opinion and although this other surgeon still thinks it is too early to tell, looking at my past pictures and X-rays and comparing them to now, he did say he would not have moved my upper so much. I have an appointment with my surgeon in two days and I need to convince him to redo this. I'm so depressed. This is affecting my life so much. I cannot identify with this person I see in the mirror. I preferred my old face than this. I feel like I lost my hereditary looks as well. I used to be told I look like my mom and I don't anymore. He should have moved my upper forward only about 4mm and my lower back about 2mm. It frustrates me south to think that I waited for this all my life, all the money I spent, the torture of braces twice, and the torture post op and to be this unhappy.
Replies (11)

October 7, 2014
I can see your unhappiness with the chin. But at 10 weeks, you are definitely swelling. All of our other jaw surgery community members are swelling at two months and beyond. So that might improve. The upper jaw, that is a different issue. I think it looks great, as do the others who write in here and don't know you, but it's a subjective thing. Your face changed in a way you weren't anticipating, and now you are unhappy. People who see you for the first time will see beauty, but they will not see the face you had prior to surgery.
I'm very glad to hear that you got a second opinion. I hope that you can find a solution with your doctor that will make you happy, but I think you will have to come to terms with that you will never have exactly the face that you had prior to surgery. I hope that there is a middle-ground, where the bite issue is fixed but you can still love your face.
Good luck to you!
I'm very glad to hear that you got a second opinion. I hope that you can find a solution with your doctor that will make you happy, but I think you will have to come to terms with that you will never have exactly the face that you had prior to surgery. I hope that there is a middle-ground, where the bite issue is fixed but you can still love your face.
Good luck to you!
October 8, 2014
I think you're mistaking in what are beautifully aesthetic profiles. Check this out: http://www.speareducation.com/spear-review/tag/facial-esthetics/
If anything, I could agree with you that your chin could be somewhat shorte but your upper jaw is perfect.
October 15, 2014
Hi Evelynn, thank you for your comment. If you look more closely at my features, my upper jaw protrudes beyond my forehead line. In the article the picture they show her upper jaw is in line with her forehead line. My features do not look natural.
October 10, 2014
Hi, I had double jaw surgery for sleep apnea in January. I'm still numb and my lips always feel chapped. I hate the way I look too. My nostrils collapsed and are flared, more space between my nose and upper lip and lines around my lips that were not there before. I also had my upper teeth show when I talked and now it's my lower teeth that shows. Friends don't know its me at first sight. I'm on anti- depressants that works so I feel better. I went to see an ent/plastic surgeon and my issues are fixable! But I have to wait a few more months to heal and for swelling to go down. I went to several doctors before I felt good about it and there were great reviews. So don't give up!
October 15, 2014
How long post op do you have to wait? and are you going to have to pay for a second operation on your own?
October 15, 2014
I go back to doctors in December and I'll know more then. My insurance will only pay to fix my nose.
December 8, 2014
Well after waiting almost a year to heal so I can get my nose fixed my dentist tells me I need to get my mouth wired shut again. My upper jaw moves so my bite doesn't align. Chewing food hurts. I'm so upset cause in July my jaw surgeon told me he couldn't see my haw move. He said I could get wired shut or eat very soft foods for 2 months. My dentist says that shouldn't have been an option
November 1, 2014
I see what you mean. In your before photo (front view) the bottom part of your cheekbones are more prominent. In post-op pics you have less lower cheek definition and it makes you look very different. BUT...you look beautiful...just different. You look like you might be Spanish and you had features that are characteristic of that culture and possibly giving you features that are very Western took away some of your facial character. I hope this makes sense. I can see the Simian look you are referring to. I have been told I should have lower orthognathic surgery for a Class II malocclusion but I'm reluctant because I already resemble Sarah Jessica Parker but I don't have that witchy chin and I am scared that I will have that.
January 12, 2015
It might be your actual chin. I have the same issue, exactly the same. I have to get my chin shaped down ALONG with the jaw surgery. Talk to your doctor about it.
UPDATED FROM pinkyy05
3 months post
Just wanted to show a few more pictures
pinkyy05October 15, 2014
In this picture you can see how my face looks too big for my body. I'm only 5'2". For some reason when I tell people how I feel about how long my jaw looks they keep comparing me to Angelina Jolie...I wish I looked like that! That is why I am adding a picture of her so you can see just how off that comparison really is. She has high cheek bones, a jaw that is almost parallel to the floor (not steep like mine) and her upper jaw is in line with her forehead, not protruding beyond it. My features just don't look normal. I preferred my face before surgery. My surgeon has taken new pictures and xrays and supposedly will try to get insurance to approve a second surgery to fix what he did. He still claims that I look great, because of course he is going to defend his work.
Another issue that came up, I have been having pain on the roof of my mouth on the left side for about two months now. It turns out that it is a lose plate that will need to come out in two days. I don't think it is just that thought. The pain is not where the plate is. I have heard that sometimes the bone does not fuse together after surgery. I know this is weird, but in my case, I hope that is the case so that my surgeon can have a reason to go back in and fix me with insurance covering. Up to today, I am still not eating properly because it hurts. I'm still on a soft food diet, which I think makes me even more depressed.
I just cannot identify myself with this person I see in the mirror. I used to be told I looked like my mom and now I don't. It makes me so sad! I really want both of my jaws to be brought back about 3mm.
Another issue that came up, I have been having pain on the roof of my mouth on the left side for about two months now. It turns out that it is a lose plate that will need to come out in two days. I don't think it is just that thought. The pain is not where the plate is. I have heard that sometimes the bone does not fuse together after surgery. I know this is weird, but in my case, I hope that is the case so that my surgeon can have a reason to go back in and fix me with insurance covering. Up to today, I am still not eating properly because it hurts. I'm still on a soft food diet, which I think makes me even more depressed.
I just cannot identify myself with this person I see in the mirror. I used to be told I looked like my mom and now I don't. It makes me so sad! I really want both of my jaws to be brought back about 3mm.
Replies (2)
December 7, 2014
Hi yhrodrig, based on all of our posts, and the various photo illustrations, I can tell that you are very thoughtful about how you arrived at the conclusion that your oral surgeon did not meet your expectations. I think if someone is going to endure the pain, risks, inconvenience, and potential financial burden of this procedure, the oral surgeon had better carefully consider the patient's expectations and make sure to meet or exceed them. The patient has to live with the results, not the doctor. As a potential candidate for future upper jaw surgery, I have been reviewing a lot of orthognathic surgery cases and I have read too many stories with people's expectations not being met. It's not always that people need to get used to the new look, it's that the doctor did not manage the patient's expectations. If you don't feel absolutely comfortable with your current surgeon's work so far, I would suggest you consider getting a 2nd or 3rd opinion on his proposed revision(s), or seek a new surgeon altogether.
I wish you the best of luck! I think you are beautiful pre+post, but ultimately you have to be happy with you first.
- Mark
December 16, 2015
I think you look great! You are so young, don't do anything to change this. When you hit 50 you will be thankful for the jaw you have right now. Your face will change as you grow older and you want the look you have right now.
Our others who are within two months of their surgery are still swollen, so that seems normal, at least. Maybe you'd like to meet them--go to their reviews and ask their opinions. I can link you to their review pages: chariirose, Saffronblossom, Yadannn, and our newest also joined today, is called gigz06.