Chin reduction surgery is a surgical treatment that deals with the problem of either a receding or overly prominent chin. Those patients suffering with a chin that is either too small or too big decide on the treatment to improve the profile of their face. The treatment can not only improve the appearance of the patients chin but also makes noses and overbites the patient may suffer from appear smaller, resulting in the patients face being proportioned better and have an overall look that is more balanced.
So what does chin reduction surgery involve and how does the treatment take place? For those suffering from a chin that protrudes, surgeons reduce this by removing some of the chin bone. For patients who suffer from a recessive chin, surgeons will build on this to make it more defined. In augmentation the surgeon uses a shaped implant to define the jaw. The implant is positioned beneath the skin through an incision made from inside the mouth or below the chin. Once the implant is in place fine sutures are used to secure it. The incision is made inside the mouth and so there will be no visible scar.
This procedure, depending on how complex the individual case is, takes between three to four hours. Most of the time the surgery can be carried out as a day case, so patients spend one night in hospital and usually return home the following day.
Patients who undergo this surgery are told that they need to have realistic expectations of the results of their surgery and what their surgery can achieve for them. The surgery should be able to produce and achieve an aesthetically balanced chin, mid-face and upper face helping to bring the face into balance and as a result provide the patient with greater confidence about their face and their overall image.
Following the procedure patients will experience slight swelling and bruising. This swelling and bruising should calm down and start to fade after about two weeks following the operation. Patients can also suffer from numbness around the chin area and the face making eating, talking and yawning uncomfortable. This numbness should disappear in a few days after the operation with mouth functions becoming easier and less uncomfortable. During this time all sutures will dissolve, however, if they do not the surgeon will remove them around ten days after the operation.
Once the surgery has taken place, the surgeon will recommend that you take one to two weeks off work to aide your recovery and ensure you are fit and well. Patients are also placed on a soft diet for about a week and advised to avoid any strenuous physical activities for up to two weeks with any activity that involves facial contact being avoided for up to six weeks.
Chin reduction surgery is a god send for those suffering with abnormalities in the chin area. A protruding or small chin can greatly affect the shape and balance of a persons face causing much misery to those suffering with either. With the short operation time and stay in hospital coupled with the relatively short recovery period chin reduction surgery is a straight forward treatment that helps thousands of people feel happier and more confident about themselves worldwide.