Chin plastic surgery: how the operation works

Mentoplasty is a plastic surgery to eliminate defects of the chin associated with its shape and size.

With the help of mentoplasty, you can either reduce or enlarge the chin, changing its anatomical shape. There are several types of surgery, each of which has its own purpose and technical features.

Types of mentoplasty

Depending on the purpose of the intervention, there are three main types of mentoplasty: reduction, augmentation and contour. In the first 2 types, access to the correction zone is provided through an internal or external incision. The external incision is located under the chin in a skin fold, the internal one in the oral cavity. Read more about the types of mentoplasty below:

• reducing – involves correction in two ways: osteotomy (displacement of the bone fragment back) and resection (removal of excess bone tissue); it is also possible to combine both methods - the resected fragment is modeled and fixed in a new location;
• augmentative – can be carried out osteotomically (resection of the bone and displacement of its fragment forward) or using implants (silicone or made from the patient’s own cartilage/bone tissue);
• contour – is an addition to the first two types of mentoplasty or acts as an independent minimally invasive method of correction of the chin area in case of a “double” chin or ptosis of the lower third of the face; Depending on the purpose, contour mentoplasty involves puncture liposuction followed by lifting or filling defects with the patient’s own fat tissue or fillers.

Types of implants for mentoplasty. Chin plastic surgery in detail. Youssef Bassanovich Dergam

Rehabilitation after genioplasty

Upon completion of the surgical intervention, a fixing bandage is applied to the chin, and after a few days it is replaced with a special bandage - it will need to be worn for about 3 weeks. In the first 7 days, patients experience severe swelling of the operated area, hematomas, pain and discomfort, especially felt when chewing food. An increase in symptoms occurs during the first three days, then their severity decreases. For quite a long time after surgery to change the chin, there may be a lack of tissue sensitivity in the area of ​​intervention, as well as some slight disturbance of facial expressions.

If an implant is inserted through the mouth, you should follow a diet until the gums heal. The scars formed during the external incision will gradually smooth out and lighten, and after a maximum of 6 months they will become practically invisible.

Indications for mentoplasty

In practice, mentoplasty is performed for aesthetic reasons, based on the wishes of the patient. Much less often, the operation is performed for medical reasons, when imperfections of the chin cause the patient not only psychological, but also physical discomfort. The main indications include:

• the patient’s aesthetic desire to improve the shape of a properly developed chin;
• traumatic injuries;
• "double chin;
• excessively massive/too small chin;
• asymmetry causing a violation of facial proportions;
• congenital underdevelopment, sloping chin.

Chin augmentation

In most cases, people turn to plastic surgeons with a congenital or acquired defect (microgenia), when the chin is small and sloping. The correction consists of augmentation mentoplasty, during which an endoprosthesis is implanted. The price of the operation can be clarified during the consultation. Implants are made from POREX or silicone. It is also possible to model the shape of the chin using the patient’s own fat tissue, in other words, elements of liposculpture.

How is mentoplasty performed?

At the first stage of any type of operation, anesthesia is performed. Then, depending on the purpose of the correction, the surgeon makes an incision into the internal or external tissues to provide access to the correction area. With reduction mentoplasty, the next step is to cut or remove a section of the chin bone. The lower part of the chin moves inward and is fixed in a new position. If reduction mentoplasty is performed using liposuction, after removing subcutaneous fat, excess skin is excised and a lift is performed. Moreover, after the liposuction procedure there are no scars left on the chin.

Augmentation mentoplasty, in contrast to reduction techniques, involves moving the underdeveloped chin forward. For this, the surgeon uses special implants (silicone or from the patient’s bone/cartilage tissue). As a rule, access to the correction zone is achieved by dissecting the soft tissue of the mucous membrane. The shape of the endoprosthesis is adjusted during the operation. Also, to correct slight asymmetry of the chin, the lipofilling technique can be used.

At the final stage of the operation, the surgeon closes the incision and applies absorbable sutures. A special bandage is placed on the patient’s head to secure the chin area.

Indications

♦ Underdeveloped chin from birth ♦ Age-related changes in the face

If the first group of evidence, as a rule, does not raise questions, then the second may provoke confusion. Indeed, with age, the volume of tissue in the lower part of the face increases. Why make this worse?

The fact is that during a facelift we move the soft tissues of the face upward, to their original, youthful position, and then the age-related decrease in the volume of the lower jaw becomes obvious. Many people do not like this emerging disproportion. This is why implant placement often significantly improves the outcome of surgical facial rejuvenation. This improvement is visible when viewed from the front and especially when viewed in profile. Moreover, sometimes if there is insufficient bone support without a chin implant, it is difficult to obtain a lasting good result from neck plastic surgery.

Rehabilitation period after mentoplasty

For 5 days after surgery, it is necessary to treat the sutures with antiseptics and take antibiotic medications prescribed by the doctor. The fixing bandage must be worn for 2 weeks. Depending on the volume and complexity of the operation, the duration of the rehabilitation period is 15 days - 1.5 months. At this time, the patient should follow the doctor's recommendations:

• for 15 - 20 days, stop lifting weights and physical activity;
• to relieve swelling, keep your head in a level and elevated position;
• significantly limit the load on the jaws;
• If during the operation access was carried out through the mucous membrane, after each meal (in liquid form) it is necessary to rinse the mouth with an antiseptic solution.

Advantages of performing surgery at the SPIC clinic

We use advanced technologies, certified drugs and modern materials from leading global manufacturers. The professionalism of our plastic surgeons allows us to offer the best results and return harmonious facial proportions to our patients. We have been working since 2001, and during this time we have been able to accumulate enormous experience - we take on solving the most non-standard problems and complex cases.

The price of mentoplasty is determined individually - it all depends on the specific wishes of the patient, the chosen method of operation, the amount of work of the surgeon and the materials used. When contacting SPIC clinics, you can rest assured - we offer affordable prices for services, the amounts announced after consultation with a specialist and examination will remain unchanged.

Contraindications to mentoplasty

Mentoplasty is not performed on patients under 18 years of age. Also, the operation is not recommended for patients under 23–25 years of age, since at this age the bone skeleton continues to form, and for patients after 60 due to the difficult healing process. Absolute contraindications to surgery include:

• circulatory pathologies;
• epilepsy;
• decompensated diabetes mellitus;
• chronic diseases of blood vessels, heart, kidneys and liver;
• skin damage in the correction area;
• disorders of the thyroid gland;
• dental diseases;
• neuropsychiatric diseases.

List of required tests

Mentoplasty will require a preliminary comprehensive examination. It is important to take photographs of the dental system, and if you are planning orthodontic treatment for malocclusion, be sure to inform the surgeon about this. This may be an important condition influencing the choice of the appropriate method and planning the timing of the operation.

The rest of the preparation for the operation is standard; the following examinations will be required:

• laboratory tests - coagulogram, biochemical blood test, general blood and urine tests;
• fluorography;
• electrocardiography.

A physician's opinion will be required, and in some cases, orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons or other specialized specialists may be involved in the preoperative examination.

What type of anesthesia is used for mentoplasty?

Chin plastic surgery uses local anesthesia with sedation. If necessary, general anesthesia can be used. The method of pain relief is determined by the predicted duration and volume of the operation.

Promotions from Omorphia - free genioplasty

The goal of our project is to highlight the possibilities of modern plastic surgery and demonstrate the work of highly qualified surgeons in this field. Chin surgery can be performed on you completely free of charge if you are the winner of the promotion. In order to become a participant in the promotion, you need to register on this site, fill out a form and begin to actively participate in the forum.

In addition to chin surgery, other jaw surgeries, such as bite correction, can be performed free of charge. The cost of these surgical interventions is quite high, so the opportunity to have plastic surgery free of charge is undoubtedly very attractive. You will only be required to agree to post all materials, including photos and personal reports related to the operation, on this site.

Stock:

• Genioplasty. Doctor Safonova L.N. (04/08/2013)
• Rhinoplasty + genioplasty. Doctor Kuzin D. A. (02/08/2016) (02/08/2016)
• Genioplasty. Doctor Andreishchev A. R. (04/01/2019) (04/02/2019)
• Genioplasty. Doctor Moshkalova A. L. (05/27/2019) (05/31/2019)
• Orthognathic surgery. Doctor Andreishchev A. R. (03/19/2020) (03/19/2020)
• Maxillofacial surgery. Doctor Andreishchev A. R. (03/26/20) (03/26/2020)
• Genioplasty. Doctor Andreishchev A. R. (03.08.2020) (03.08.2020)
• Genioplasty. Doctor Andreishchev A. R. (08/19/20) (08/26/2020)
• Genioplasty. Doctor Sviridov M.K. (07.12.2020) (07.12.2020)
• Rhinoplasty and genioplasty. Doctor Ligatyuk D. D. (01/25/2020) (01/27/2021)
• Genioplasty. Dr. Mishustina Yu. V. (05/30/2022) (05/30/2022)

How does the intervention work?

The duration of the procedure and the access site are determined based on the identified pathology and the type of implant. Incisions can be made in the oral cavity (in the mucous membrane of the lower lip) or in the natural mental fold. Scars usually become invisible after a few days.

The surgeon then places the implant, removing excess fat if necessary. As a result, the patient receives an ideal oval face of the correct shape, a beautiful neck and restored skin turgor. Often, plastic surgery of this part of the face is accompanied by correction of the nose, lips, jaw or cheekbones, which gives beautiful features and a clear contour.

With the help of implants, you can delicately make significant changes to your appearance. For example, to reconstruct, increase it, correct a congenital defect, restore the harmony of facial features, get rid of the disproportion between the upper and lower parts, enlarge a poorly developed chin.

Get chin surgery in Moscow

Mentoplasty is an operation to correct the shape of the chin. Mentoplasty can be divided into two types:

• osteoplastic surgery,
• surgeries with implant placement.

During osteoplastic surgery, chin correction occurs due to changes in one’s own tissues—bone structures. For example, a surgeon may perform the following manipulations:

• push your chin forward;
• file the bone if the patient thinks that the chin is too large;
• eliminate asymmetry.

Placing implants allows you to enlarge the chin area and change its shape. For this purpose, silicone or porous biocompatible polyethylene implants can be used.

Thanks to the pores, scars grow into implants made of biocompatible polyethylene, creating an uneven structure of small scars. Silicone implants, due to their smooth surface, lead to the formation of a flat scar, but they exert significant compression on the bone structures, which, if worn for a long time, can lead to thinning of the cortical bone plate.

If you are dissatisfied with the appearance of the chin area, in some cases a soft tissue lift - mentopexy - may be required. During this intervention, the plastic surgeon performs a detachment, tightens and fixes the tissue to reduce the chin.

An alternative method for chin augmentation is the injection of fillers. It is used in cases where the patient is afraid of surgery or doubts the need for it. Moreover, there is a special “try-on” during which hyaluronic acid fillers are placed in the chin area to imagine what the result of the operation will look like. The undoubted advantage of this technique is that the volume of the chin can be increased or decreased at any time. However, when using fillers to enlarge the chin, the injection procedure will have to be repeated regularly.

The cause of problems with the chin area is often an incorrect bite, so before planning surgery you should consult a dentist. After all, changing your bite can correct the shape of your chin.