Chin Surgery
Chin surgery is a procedure to help reshape the chin either with reduction surgery on the bone, or implants to enhance the profile.
read more closeAlso known as mentoplasty (chin reduction) or genioplasty (chin augmentation), the procedures are often recommended by plastic surgeons to help patients achieve facial proportion, especially between the nose and chin.
During a chin reduction, the surgeon makes an incision either inside the mouth under the lower lip, or under the chin. Using a bone burr or special drill, the chin bone is reshaped to attain a more natural size and appearance. The incision is closed with sutures and tape is applied to the chin area.
Genioplasty is usually performed with the use of a chin implant to augment a receding chin, or by the surgical expansion of the bone itself. A small incision is made either under the lower lip inside the mouth or under the chin in an inconspicuous location. After an appropriately-sized pocket is created, the implant is inserted inside the mouth along the lower lip or in the skin just under the chin area. The procedure may take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to complete.
Generally, the chin is taped after surgery to minimize swelling and discomfort. Intra-oral sutures will dissolve with time and any sutures in the skin will be removed after five to ten days. Patients may experience swelling or bruising in the treated area after surgery, which will subside over two to three weeks. Time in surgery may last from 45 minutes to one and a half hours, depending on the procedure. Chin surgery may be performed on an outpatient basis in a surgical office or in the hospital.