Is Square Jaw Asymmetry Correctable with Masseter Resection (Masseter Reduction)

Hello, this is Director Jo Hyun-woo of IP C Plastic Surgery.

Today, I’d like to talk about correcting square jaw asymmetry.

In general, when one side of the square jaw appears larger, asymmetry can be corrected through square jaw surgery.

For a more frontal effect, cortical bone reduction surgery and masseter resection are sometimes performed together during square jaw surgery.

First, when looking at people who need square jaw surgery, some have large square jaw bones, but others have well-developed square jaw muscles (masseter muscles).

Because the masseter affects the volume of the square jaw from the front, when the square jaw looks large from the front, it is often due to the development of this muscle.

The masseter is one of the chewing muscles used for mastication, and it extends from the cheekbone to the lower jawbone.

There are several ways to reduce a developed masseter in the square-jaw area, but the most certain method is masseter resection, which involves removing a small portion of the enlarged muscle. In this case, the face can become slimmer without worrying about the volume increasing again.

Then I will explain by showing an actual patient case.

As you can see in the photo above, the asymmetry of the square jaw is immediately visible.

The surgical approach may differ depending on whether the cause is the jawbone or the muscle.

In this patient’s case, cheekbone reduction surgery, square jaw surgery, cortical bone reduction surgery, and masseter resection were performed together.

By performing cortical bone reduction surgery and masseter resection on the square jaw, the volume of the square jaw was reduced compared to before surgery, and the asymmetry was also corrected, showing an overall smoother and more feminine appearance.

Let’s look at the next case.

The patient above had a very severe square jaw and underwent square jaw surgery along with cortical bone reduction surgery and masseter resection.

The angularity is clear from the side, but especially from the front it appears as a pronounced square jaw.

In cases like this, bone development plays a major role, but masseter development often has a very large influence as well.

This means that noticeable frontal improvement is difficult to achieve with standard square jaw surgery alone.

These are the lateral cortex and masseter that were actually removed from the patient above.

If performed together with masseter resection, a more satisfying surgical result can be achieved.

So far, I have shown real cases of masseter resection needed to correct square jaw asymmetry.

Thank you.