Consultation About Facial Contouring - 1

Q.

Hello. I’m a graduate student about to graduate soon. After graduation, I plan to undergo zygoma and square jaw surgery. So I’ve been looking around to gather information, and I had one question. When I visited the doctor’s blog, the most noticeable post was that many revision surgery patients come in after non-fixed zygoma surgery. Of course, non-fixation of the zygoma has the advantage that no metal is inserted into the body, but I felt that it is a surgery with too much risk. What I’m wondering, though, is whether it is enough to fix only the body of the zygoma, or whether the osteotomy site at the back of the arch also needs to be fixed. Also, if I have surgery at Jelim, I’d like to know how much it would cost later to have the fixation pins removed from the zygoma.

Lastly... this is my final question that came to mind while reading the doctor’s blog... For square jaw surgery, I read that cortical bone is removed and part of the muscle is also excised to create a frontal effect, but what I’m worried about is whether such a frontal effect might later cause problems with nerves or sensation. In particular, I saw on another doctor’s blog that if the bones become weaker with age, there may be late complications after square jaw surgery, and that is what concerns me the most. It may be strange to call it a complex... but in any case, I worry that having surgery for that reason might end up harming my health later in life when I get older.

I’d appreciate your answer... Enjoy the Lunar New Year holiday^*^ And Happy New Year!!!

 

A.

Hello,

 

I am Jung Jae-young, director of Jelim Plastic Surgery.

 

I apologize for the delayed response.

 

From the way and content of your inquiry, it seems more likely that you may be a plastic surgeon already in practice rather than someone 고민ning about your own surgery^^

 

In any case, I will answer carefully.

 

Facial contouring surgery is not a procedure where time is of the essence, so it is definitely not advisable to decide on surgery impulsively or spontaneously.

 

Therefore, as in your case, I think it is desirable to carefully consider everything in detail before deciding on surgery.

 

To get to the point, I will answer the parts you asked about.

 

First, zygoma reduction surgery is conceptually quite different from square jaw surgery; it is not a procedure that simply cuts away protruding bone, but rather a surgery that moves the position of the zygomatic bone, which supports the contour of the midface, to a new position.

 

( Square jaw surgery is a procedure that changes the shape of an overly developed lower jaw bone by cutting it away.)

 

Therefore, in order to move it to a new position and allow it to form the contour accurately in that new position, it is essential to support the bone so that it can heal in a stable position.

 

Of course, the fixation site may vary somewhat depending on the surgical method and purpose, but to reduce the contour of the side zygoma as much as possible, fixation of the osteotomy site at the back of the zygoma arch is necessary.

 

(Although the surgical method itself is somewhat difficult, in our case fixation on the body side is not necessary.)

 

If, after surgery, you wish to have the fixation pins removed, they can generally be removed simply under local anesthesia about 6 months after surgery, and the cost is about 500,000 won.

 

Next is the answer regarding square jaw surgery.

 

To be precise, removing only the cortical bone does not create much frontal effect.

 

The method of removing cortical bone is itself only a very minor part of square jaw surgery, so it is better to understand it as something that is naturally done during the surgery process.

 

The term cortical bone resection is often used to make the surgical method sound more impressive, but in reality it is not such a special method; it is simply one of the very basic, accompanying steps in the surgery.

 

When removing cortical bone, it is even less desirable to cut it away completely so that the inner cancellous bone becomes exposed or the pathway through which nerves pass becomes exposed.

 

Therefore, when removing cortical bone, it is desirable to stop the resection when the bone has been gently shaved down and pin-point bleeding begins to appear.

 

Whether part of the muscle is removed can vary depending on the case, and there is no particular problem even if part of the muscle is removed, so there is no need to worry.

 

If you have any other questions, please ask again. And if the person who asked is a plastic surgeon personally performing facial contouring surgery, you are also welcome to visit our clinic directly and ask in person^.^

 

Happy New Year^.^