Not by the hairs of my (new) chinny chin chin!

Would you ever go under the knife?

This is a question I asked on this blog a few years ago. And I have a confession to make. I did consider. And I went for it.

It looks like I'm not the only one.

http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/16/11188357-for-cosmetic-surgery-chins-are-the-new-breasts-chinplants-on-the-rise?lite

I know that most people like to keep their plastic surgeries to themselves. I've debated about this off and on over the past few years. I guess this article prompted me to share. And as a surgeon who will be performing this procedure myself, I'd like my patients and friends to know that this is an option as I'm sure I'm not the only one unhappy with my chin (the article is good evidence of this), even at the risk of being the recipient of negative judgements in relation to how much vanity I possess.


I have never been happy with my profile and my double chin. When I started my internship in Oral Maxillofacial Surgery I realized that this was a pretty simple fix for me. Although many plastic surgeries use the "chin implant," our department is very adept at what is called "genioplasty." Essentially, this is modifiying the bony part of your chin rather than placing an implant or other device to augment the chin. I like this procedure over the implant for a few reasons. First, besides the metal plate and screws holding everything in place, there are no foreign bodies, which can be prone to infection or other reactions. Secondly, the procedure is done solely through an incision inside the mouth. No visible scars!

I had the procedure done in our clinic on a Friday afternoon. It took about 20 minutes while I was out using standard sedation drugs. Monday morning I was back at work (although an extra few days would have been great). I was bruised and puffy for a few weeks but back to normal pretty quickly.

This is shortly after the procedure with some lingering bruising and swelling. Abe didn't have a chin procedure (he already has a great chin!), just a funny coincidence (sliding injury in baseball) that we both looked like this.
I am very happy with the results. I think the results are subtle (did you even know?) but I feel like it made a big difference to me and I am very pleased. Let me know if you have questions about this procedure or feel free to call the college of dentistry for a quick consultation. It is a pretty quick outpatient procedure with a relatively low cost.


 These are my xrays before and after. Can you see what they did?

This one shows well the plate holding everything in place.

This is me before the procedure. 

And just a few weeks after.

Here is my before profile. Can you see how far back my chin is? (Okay, I know it wasn't THAT bad, but it still bothered me.)

This is my "profile picture" just a few weeks after the procedure. The clock was just a decoy so I could post this online for my family to see without anyone else knowing what the deal was.

What do you think of the results? Would you ever consider surgery yourself?