What Kind of Nerve Damage Can Occur After Facial Contouring Surgery?

Hello, this is Director Jo Hyun-woo of 3D Plastic Surgery.

Today, I’d like to talk about nerve damage after facial contouring surgery, which many people worry about.

In several of my columns, when explaining the side effects of each surgery, I also mentioned nerve damage.

In this column, I will give a general explanation of what kinds of nerve injuries can occur.

The figures above show the nerves in our face.

There are many nerves distributed throughout the face, but you do not need to worry about all of them.

It seems necessary to pay attention to damage to the three nerves marked in red.

Mental nerve (mental nerve)

This is the nerve most easily damaged when we perform lower jaw surgery.

If too much of the jawbone is removed, the nerve can be severed, and it can also be damaged during corticotomy.

It may also be injured by excessive traction.

Even when performing angle reduction surgery and chin surgery, this nerve can be exposed no matter how carefully the bone is cut and dissected.

Therefore, even if the nerve has not been damaged, numbness in the front chin area can occur if the nerve has been stretched or exposed.

However, if the nerve has not been completely severed, it usually recovers in about 3 to 6 months, so there is no need to worry too much.

These are before-and-after photos of a patient who underwent angle reduction surgery and chin surgery while preserving the nerve.

Because this nerve is responsible for sensation in the lower jaw area, it is not closely related to movement. However, if sensation decreases, movement around the lips may feel awkward. Even if you are worried about such sensory changes, if the sensation is not completely absent and is only dulled, it will usually recover sufficiently, so there is no need to worry.

Infraorbital nerve (infraorbital nerve)

This nerve can be damaged during cheekbone reduction surgery.

In most cases, this nerve is not directly severed, but because the fixation pin for the cheekbone can press on the nerve, it needs to be observed carefully.

Zygomaticofacial nerve (zygomaticofacial nerve)

The nerve that can be injured during cheekbone surgery is the zygomaticofacial nerve.

Do you see the small hole on the cheekbone in this CT image?

This is a nerve that can often be dissected and injured during cheekbone surgery.

We try to dissect and fix it without damaging this nerve as much as possible, but because the location where this nerve emerges differs from patient to patient, there are occasional cases where the nerve is stretched or injured.

However, the area this nerve is responsible for is a very small sensory region, as shown in the photo above, so nearby nerves often take over and sensation returns. Therefore, damage to this nerve is usually not something you need to worry about too much.

These are before-and-after photos of a patient who underwent cheekbone reduction surgery while preserving the nerve.

So far, we have looked at the nerve damage that can occur during facial contouring surgery.

Facial contouring surgery involves areas where many facial nerves and the trigeminal nerve pass through, but if the surgery is performed accurately, nerve damage is a side effect you do not need to worry about. If you receive safe surgery through sufficient consultation with a trusted medical institution and medical staff, I believe you can achieve good results.

Thank you.