Chin surgery (often called mentoplasty or genioplasty), is a surgical procedure to reshape the chin. This can be accomplished in several ways. Your plastic surgeon may recommend enhancement with a facial implant or surgical reshaping of the chin bone.
The general goal of cosmetic chin surgery is to provide a harmonious balance to your chin and facial features so that you feel better about the way you look.
Many times a plastic surgeon may recommend chin surgery to a patient having nose surgery in order to achieve facial proportion, as the size of the chin may magnify or minimize the perceived size of the nose.
What Happens During Chin Surgery?
Anesthesia administered for your comfort during the surgical procedures. The choices include intravenous sedation and general anesthesia. Your doctor will recommend the best choice for you.
With a short incision under the chin or inside the mouth, your plastic surgeon can place a chin implant directly on the bone. For a chin implant, the incision may be inside your mouth, along the crease that joins your lower lip and gums. An incision just beneath the chin is another alternative that may be recommended.
Surgery will usually require 30 minutes to one hour. Before the surgery, your plastic surgeon selects the proper size and shape implant to enhance your appearance. He or she then inserts it into a pocket over the front of the jawbone. The small incision to create the pocket and insert the implant is placed inside the mouth (along the lower lip) or in the skin just under the chin area.
Recovering from Chin Surgery
The chin is also taped to minimize swelling and discomfort. If an intra-oral incision is used, the sutures will dissolve on their own.Your incisions will be closed with absorbable sutures or stitches that will be removed within 1-2 weeks following your surgery. While the initial outcome of plastic surgery with facial implants is noticeable almost immediately, it may be obscured by visible swelling, which can take several months to fully dissipate.
