[Chin Surgery] Learn About Contouring and T-Osteotomy with Real Patient Cases.

Hello. I’m Dr. Jo Hyun-woo from Intra Plastic Surgery.

Recently, there have been many chin surgery methods available, such as contouring, T-osteotomy, ㅅ-osteotomy, W-osteotomy, and more.

Some people say T-osteotomy is better, while others say contouring is better, so I think patients may feel confused.

Today, as a board-certified plastic surgeon with 15 years of experience, I’d like to provide accurate information about chin surgery.

There are many chin surgery methods, but perhaps what most people are most curious about is the difference between “T-osteotomy” and “contouring.”

I’ll briefly show the surgical methods first and then explain them.

Chin surgery, “T-osteotomy” and “contouring”

Chin surgery, Intra Plastic Surgery

First, T-osteotomy is a procedure in which the front of the chin is cut in a T shape and the middle bone segment is removed to narrow the width of the chin into a V-line.

The surgical process is as follows:

First, the chin area is cut in an alphabet T shape while avoiding the nerve line.

After removing the central bone segment,

the separated sides of the chin are brought together.

After bringing the bone together and fixing it with pins,

the remaining parts of both sides of the jawbone are cut. T-osteotomy is performed through the process above.

Next, contouring is a procedure in which the jaw is cut in one long line from the square jaw area to the chin, as shown in the illustration.

In fact, I’m not sure where the term contouring originated, but it is not a medical term. It is not the name of a surgery, but rather a general term meaning that the square jaw and chin are both cut at the same time. The exact term is “lower border ostectomy (LBO).”

Which is better, T-osteotomy or contouring?

To get straight to the point, if neither contouring nor T-osteotomy involves moving the chin forward or backward, then “there is no difference in the outcome.”

Even in the literature, it is stated that there is no difference in outcomes between contouring, lower border ostectomy (LBO), and T-osteotomy ^^;

These two procedures ultimately create the same V-line, and as mentioned earlier, they do not show any special difference in appearance.

I’ll show CT images as well.

Before chin surgery, contouring procedure

After chin surgery, contouring procedure

These are pre- and post-op CT images of a contouring patient,

Before chin surgery, T-osteotomy procedure

After chin surgery, T-osteotomy procedure

And these are pre- and post-op CT images of a T-osteotomy patient.

If you compare the jawlines, you can see that both the contouring patient and the T-osteotomy patient achieved a smooth V-line, with no difference in the surgical result.

There is no procedure that is better than the other; ultimately, the appropriate surgery must be selected according to the patient.

Then what chin surgery method is right for me?

Cases that require chin surgery include when the chin is wide and bulky, when the jawline is angular, when the front chin protrudes due to prognathism, or, conversely, when the chin is underdeveloped and recessed.

If the chin is not only wide and angular, but there is also prognathism or a recessed chin, then the chin must be moved backward or advanced forward.

In such cases, only T-osteotomy can both advance and set back the chin at the same time, so contouring should not be performed and T-osteotomy is required. Just looking at the surgical method illustrations above, you can see that contouring does not allow advancement or setback.

However, if there is no need to move the chin forward or backward and the only issue is a wide, angular chin, then there is no need to cut the bone, use pins, and fix it again as in T-osteotomy.

To summarize, if the issue is a wide, angular chin, both T-osteotomy and contouring ultimately create the same V-line. However, if prognathism or a recessed chin is also a problem, the chin needs to be advanced or set back, so T-osteotomy is the appropriate procedure.

In terms of the surgical technique, contouring is slightly more difficult. However, an experienced specialist should be able to perform both procedures safely.

Real cases of T-osteotomy chin surgery

Chin surgery, Intra Plastic Surgery

Here are actual patient photos.

The photo you see is of a patient who received T-osteotomy chin surgery this year. The chin is wide and blunt.

From the side, the chin also protrudes forward, so there is a prognathism issue as well. In this case, the surgery is performed by reducing the width of the front chin with T-osteotomy while also moving the chin bone backward and fixing it in place.

Next is a photo taken 6 months after T-osteotomy chin surgery. From the front, the width of the front chin has been reduced and it has become a slimmer V-line.

From the side, the previously protruding chin has been moved backward, improving the prognathism as well. As such, T-osteotomy is suitable in chin surgery when not only the width of the chin but also advancement or setback of the chin is needed.

Real case of contouring chin surgery

Chin surgery, Intra Plastic Surgery

The next patient received chin surgery using the “contouring” method. Looking at the preoperative photo, the chin has a large volume and the left and right sides are asymmetric.

However, from the side, there does not seem to be a need to advance or set back the chin.

In this case, both T-osteotomy and contouring are suitable.

This is a photo taken 6 months after contouring chin surgery. If you look at the jawline, the chin has become more refined and the asymmetry has improved significantly.

Isn’t T-osteotomy a more advanced chin surgery because it is a newer technique?

One of the misconceptions many patients have is thinking that “T-osteotomy and ㅅ-osteotomy are more advanced procedures.”

That is a mistaken idea. I suspect this is because hospitals commercialize a single surgical method and strongly advertise one side of it.

Some also ask whether ㅅ-osteotomy is a newer technique than T-osteotomy, but T-osteotomy and ㅅ-osteotomy are the same surgical method, with only the name being different. ^^; Seeing this makes me think it must be really difficult for patients to distinguish accurate information.

As explained above, the surgical results of T-osteotomy and contouring are the same. If advancement or setback of the chin is not needed, there is no reason to unconditionally choose T-osteotomy.

Also, I recently saw posts claiming that contouring causes more double chins because the dissection area is wider. This is also incorrect, and the dissection range does not show a noticeable difference between T-osteotomy and contouring.

Therefore, a specialist should be skilled in both T-osteotomy and contouring and should correctly choose the appropriate method according to the patient’s situation.

Another thing patients most often ask during facial contouring consultations is the recovery period. I have written a separate article about the recovery period for facial contouring, along with real patient photos, so if needed, I recommend reading it.

So far, we have looked at chin surgery by comparing T-osteotomy and contouring. Before surgery, be sure to visit at least 2 to 3 hospitals and make the right choice. Thank you. ^^

The link below is the address of a cafe that collects facial contouring reviews written by patients. ^^