Not All T-Osteotomy Surgeries Are the Same!

Hello. I’m Dr. Jo Hyun-woo from 입체성형외과.

The most commonly performed surgery in chin surgery is the T-osteotomy.

It is a method in which the chin is narrowed by cutting the bone into a T shape, bringing it together, and then fixing it in place.

The basic surgical method is carried out as shown in the illustration below.

T-osteotomy surgical method

So, is T-osteotomy always performed in exactly the same way? No, it is not.

Each patient has a jawbone with a different shape, and I will explain various surgical methods by looking at each case.

Various T-osteotomy surgical methods

1. Wide chin

This is the usual procedure.

After cutting the T-shaped bone in the middle, the chin is advanced and fixed in cases of a recessed chin, and moved backward and fixed in cases of a protruding chin.

Wide chin: square jaw surgery, chin surgery

2. Short chin

T-osteotomy bone graft lengthening procedure

Square jaw bone graft lengthening procedure

If the chin is short, removing too much of the middle bone can make the chin very small and result in an unattractive jawline.

For a short chin, the amount of T-osteotomy bone is reduced, and the removed bone is grafted in the middle to perform the surgery, or the bone removed during square jaw surgery can be grafted to extend the length.

Recessed chin: chin surgery

3. Asymmetrical chin

In cases of an asymmetrical chin

If the chin is asymmetrical, the shape of the bone to be cut is made different, as shown in this illustration, and the bone is fixed.

If it is curved to the right as shown above, removing more bone from the left side and modifying the central T shape to bring it together can create the effect of centering the chin.

Asymmetrical chin: square jaw surgery, chin surgery

4. Long chin

In cases of a long chin

For a long chin, T-osteotomy is performed by removing the upper and lower bones in a disk shape, as shown in the illustration.

The downside of this surgery is that if the amount of bone that needs to be removed increases, a secondary angle with the square jaw may become more pronounced, so I usually recommend combining it with square jaw surgery.

Long chin: square jaw surgery, chin surgery

5. Split chin

In cases of a split chin

This is mainly seen in men, and if the jawbone has a shape like the illustration, widening the central bone a little more, cutting it, and bringing it together can create a more typical chin shape.

Split chin: square jaw surgery, chin surgery

So far, I have explained by looking at various diagrams and actual patient cases.

As explained above, T-osteotomy is a good surgical method that can be applied in a variety of cases.

If you consider and undergo a surgery suited to your own jawbone, you may be able to create a more beautiful chin.

Thank you.