Face Contouring Q&A 9. Frequently Asked Questions About Face Contouring Surgery

Hello. I’m Director Jo Hyun-woo of 3D Plastic Surgery.

Today, many questions have come in through YouTube comments, so I’ve organized some common questions and content that may be helpful for you to know.

Q1. Is there a way to improve a severe recessed chin and marionette lines?

A. A severe recessed chin has limitations in how much it can be corrected with chin surgery. A stepped osteotomy or a silicone implant can be effective in adding volume, and marionette lines can be sufficiently improved with Botox treatment.

Q2. Can tooth nerve damage occur after chin surgery?

A. If the osteotomy goes too far upward during chin surgery, the tooth roots can be damaged when fixation pins are placed.

Therefore, during surgery, it is necessary to check the position of the tooth roots and use fixation pins carefully. If a fixation pin is placed too close to a nerve root, it should be removed immediately.

Q3. Is face contouring surgery possible without fixation pins?

A. At 3D Plastic Surgery, cheekbone reduction surgery is possible without fixation pins using the 230-degree 3D cheekbone reduction procedure, and if forward or backward advancement of the jawbone is not needed, lower jaw surgery using V-osteotomy (shaving rotation) is possible.

Q4. Are there complications such as nonunion after the 230-degree 3D cheekbone reduction procedure?

A. The 230-degree cheekbone surgery is a procedure in which partial osteotomy is performed at the 45-degree area and complete osteotomy is performed at the back-cheekbone area through a scalp incision. If done correctly, it has far fewer complications such as nonunion than 3D cheekbone surgery. For those concerned about union of the back-cheekbone area, absorbable pins or posterior fixation are possible.

If the surgery is not performed properly, any surgery can have complications, so if you undergo surgery, it is important to monitor the postoperative CT regularly.

Q5. Are there complications such as sagging after shaving bone surgery?

A. If the muscles are reattached to the bone during surgery, it seems that sagging will not occur after adhesion. However, cheekbone or chin reduction that reduces volume can inevitably involve some sagging, but it is not significant. The same applies to chin reduction through T-osteotomy.

Q6. Cheekbone reduction surgery, temple incision, and the dissection range of intraoral incision

A. The dissection range of the intraoral incision has to be wider because it is performed from inside the mouth.

Please refer to the column below for more details.

Q7. About sounds and pain after cheekbone surgery

A. If fixation is made both in the front and back during cheekbone surgery, there will be no sound of the bone moving, but in the case of natural adhesion cheekbone surgery, the bone in the back-cheekbone area may make sounds when opening the mouth or chewing food.

However, after about a month, the bones unite and the sounds stop, so there is no need to worry.

Q8. What is the difference between a square jaw that needs masseter reduction and a square jaw that needs cortical osteotomy?

A. The front-view effect of square jaw surgery improves when it is performed by judging three things: cortical osteotomy, the widening of the square jaw bone, and masseter reduction.

If there is a large amount of muscle, it is good to combine masseter reduction, and in my case, cortical osteotomy is performed almost always together during square jaw surgery.

Thank you.