Vertical Chin Reduction for a Long Square Chin - Sacramento, CA

I have a long face which doesn't bother me so much. What has always bothered me is that my chin is long and square and I have never liked the masculine look of it. I finally went to a PS/maxillofacial surgeon for a consult. He didn't want to operate because he said I was "already attractive" and didn't need it but he also acknowledged that yes my jaw is excessively long. We finally decided together to do chin burring intraorally, no wedge reduction. He did not think doing a wedge reduction was a good idea because of how people look in the future as they age. He said a lot of doctors don't want to tell you that it can create a "step" on either side of your chin and you can prematurely age and have jowls. He said that he doesn't just think of right now but he thinks of his patient's future as well. I was very happy with his honesty and it made me feel comfortable proceeding. The trade off is that I know I will not have a huge change, it will be more subtle. This is because he said if he takes alot off I can end up with soft tissue sag since he will not be doing a submental incision where he would able to tighten it. I had my surgery yesterday. It took less than an hour and my head is wrapped until my appointment later this afternoon. After that he will give me a removable chin strap to wear 24 hours a day for the first week. Then I will wear it only at night for an additional week. I have a high tolerance for pain but it was pretty painful yesterday... sore and some sharp pains around my bottom teeth. I've been taking Norco and today I feel so much better. I can't wait to see the results. I can only hope that there is a noticeable difference and no soft tissue sag. I will post pics later.

It is Friday, a full 4 days post surgery. My lower lip is swollen about 5x the normal size, no joke. It is HUUUGE. It is so big that the skin peeled off like a snake shedding skin. I literally woke up in the morning yesterday and all the skin was hanging off, leaving it very shiny (top lip is totally fine, not swollen at all). It makes it difficult to talk and to eat and I am definitely NOT presentable. Other than that it hasn't been bad. My jaw area is swollen like a chipmunk but nothing too bad. Its not that sore either. My bottom teeth are only slightly sore and the stitches don't bother me. It is just THIS LIP. I was not prepared for this part, although my doctor did say my lip could swell, but the extent is shocking to me. I would say it's 99% of why the healing process has been difficult for me, but everyone's experience is different. To be honest I haven't heard anyone else online complain about their lip, except minor swelling. So sounds like I may be one of the rare ones to have it be this bad? I haven't left the house since I got home and am bored out of my mind. I can tell it's gonna be another week or so before I'm presentable and my doctor agrees (he said about day 10). I only took 1 week off work. .. Definitely not enough. I will most likely be out next week too. So for others out there, take off at least 2 weeks. Make sure you have lots of food options.. mashed potatoes, raviolis, lasagna, ice cream, soups, apple sauce, pudding. . That's pretty much what I've been having.

Saturday, 5 1/2 days after my surgery. Lip is exactly the same. I'm at the point of feeling like it will NEVER go down and I will always look this way. I know that sounds crazy and of course it will go away but it just doesn't feel that way! It is so huge I can barely eat or talk. I can literally see my lower lip when I'm just staring straight ahead. It's sore and feels like it's burning. Also, as the feeling to my chin is coming back, the pain is actually getting worse. My lower teeth hurt so bad last night and this morning. My chin tingles too and sometimes feels itchy but I don't know where it's itching from which drives me crazy. Beware that the middle of the night and morning are the WORST times for pain due to sleeping laying down and the swelling staying there. Try to sleep sitting up if you can.. it makes it sooooo much better. I've given up on the Norcos because it makes my breathing shallow and only works for the pain for about 2 hours. I found that strangely enough Excedrin has worked the best for me. It takes away the achiness but without feeling weird or nauseous. I'm doing warm salt water rinses after I eat too to keep the stitches area in my mouth clean.