What Surgery Should Be Done for a Protruding Chin?

Hello, I’m Director Jo Hyun-woo of 입체성형외과.

Following on from last time, this time I’ll talk about how to set the chin back.

First, for people whose chin looks long, one thing to consider is the bite.

In general, people with class 3 facial bone structure, which is an indication for orthognathic surgery, may appear to have a protruding chin.

As shown above, when the teeth do not fit together properly and the mandible is positioned forward, orthognathic surgery can be used to correct the bite and move the jawbone backward.

I explained this in a previous column as well.

When surgery is performed as shown above, the protruding chin can be corrected dramatically.

However, most people have a proper bite but still have a protruding chin.

I’ll divide this into two cases.

When the chin is long and protrudes forward

Most people whose chin looks like a protruding chin have both a long chin and forward projection.

In this case, the chin can be moved backward while reducing its length with sandwich osteotomy.

But what you must understand here is that the squareness of the jawbone does not move backward at all.

If only chin surgery is performed, the step or difference in level with the remaining jawbone can become quite noticeable, making the face look even more square. Some people also say that the area below the mouth looks more protruded, so the face does not look prettier.

A patient whose chin was set back through chin surgery alone

Therefore, for people who absolutely need to reduce the length while moving the chin backward, surgery should be done together with square jaw surgery, along with cortical osteotomy, to reduce the protruding bone as well.

A patient who underwent chin surgery together with square jaw surgery

In the past, chin setback surgery was performed quite often.

Recently, however, it seems that excessive setback is not being done as much.

This may be because moving it backward creates a level difference with the square jaw, and in many cases it worsens a double chin.

I also currently perform surgery that reduces the length and shaves the cortical part of the chin bone for people whose chin is not excessively protruded but whose face is long. The result seems to create a more natural facial appearance.

A patient who underwent chin shaving along with square jaw surgery and chin surgery

A patient who underwent chin shaving along with square jaw surgery and chin surgery

When chin shaving is performed together with square jaw surgery and chin surgery like this, you can see that the protruding chin and the long-looking face improve significantly.

When the chin length is short but protrudes forward

In this case, surgery can be done to move only the chin backward without reducing its length.

Compared with cases where the chin is long, the level difference with the square jawbone is not as severe, so the bone can be moved backward without creating much awkwardness.

There is also a downside to this surgery that I tell my patients about.

When the chin bone is moved backward, the downside is that the bone that has been moved back can be felt from the inside.

This is a view from below. In fact, this part can only be felt; it is not visible from the outside, so there is no need to worry too much.

A patient whose chin was set back without reducing its length

A patient whose chin was set back without reducing its length

Some people say that when the chin looks like a protruding chin, the impression also seems stronger and more stubborn.

Instead of thinking that a protruding chin must always be moved backward, please remember that there are various surgical methods, such as reducing the length, shaving, or moving it backward, and I hope you choose the surgery that suits you best to achieve a natural result.

Thank you.