Jaw surgery + [Chin Augmentation]?

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#1 Post by **ZmaN277** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:00 am

Justa quick question:

My doctor said he could supplement the jaw surgery with a chin augmentation (I forget the medical term for it), to give myself a stronger chin.

I was wondering-- does this bring an entire new level of pain/complication/possible deterioration to the procedure, or is it shadowed by the scope of the Maxiofacial.

Any advice/experience/knowledge on this type of um, "add-on" would be awesome.

Thanks!

-Zach

#2 Post by **~danielle~** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:21 pm

I had a sliding genioplasty along with a lower jaw advancement. My surgeon did warn me, like meryaten mentioned, that the risk of permanent numbness would be slightly greater than if I had the jaw surgery alone. In my case, i think that if I had done the surgery without the chin, I wouldnt have been happy with the results, no matter how great my bite turned out. The little extra swelling and slightly higher chance of permanent numbness were not enough reason for me to not get the most I could out of my surgery and be truly happy with the results. I dont think it really made my recovery much different than if i had done the jaw surgery alone because either way, you are going under anesthesia and having to recover from the surgery itself... having the chin done at the same time wont make a huge difference.

#3 Post by **Emaciated** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:01 am

Any advice/experience/knowledge on this type of um, "add-on" would be awesome.

I had a genio in addition to upper/lower. As mentioned above, I paid out of pocket, $2500 for it. Payment was due a week before the whole procedure. The center of my chin is now permanently numb in an area about the size of a U.S. quarter. This doesn't bother me in the slightest and the only time I notice it is when I shave. Recovery-wise, I think the only real issue it added was I had to wear some annoying tape on my chin for 5 days.

The advice I tend to spout about genios is that if you trust your surgeon's judgement, you can have him/her decide on the spot whether your profile needs it after they move your jaw(s). I paid for mine up front but asked the surgeon to consider not doing it if, once they had placed my jaws in the proper alignment, it looked as if I didn't need one. I didn't want them to slice up my chin simply because I had already paid for it. I imagine many people would not be comfortable with that but its something to consider.

#4 Post by **Andantae** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:22 pm

Excellent advice all around for you Zach

.

Like Karl, I 'paid' for my possible geino up front. Actually, they just held a check made out in advance (mine was $3900). I had a chin implant removed during my BSSO, so it made it especially difficult to ascertain whether I would, in fact, need the genio once it was removed. I totally trusted my OS and much preferred that me made the decision in the OR once he had my jaws in their new position. He was very clear with me that they would not do the genio unless it was an obvious call and opt for the side of conservative if it turned out to be a close call.

As it is, we both agree that my chin looks great now and a genio would have been WAY too much.

Karlclay~

If someone had told me that I would definitely have a quarter size area of numbess on my chin following my BSSO, I would still have gone ahead----no question! That would not be a big deal to me, either. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if you still regain more feeling over time.

What does the quarter size area feel like? Meaning, do you have any sensation there at all? If you touch that area, do you have referred sensation nearby?

Andi

#5 Post by **ZmaN277** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:09 pm

Thanks for the advice!

It's a little unnerving reading about all of the people who who had complications with their procedures =/

I guess its kind of cynical to say this but, I'm forced to assume more people come to websites to , well, "complain" of problems than report successes, or are the odds of a complication really as great as they seem. I wish I knew what the actual odds were of success/fail and factors that influenced those odds.

Also, if it matters-- I'm going to be 18 years old when I get this procedure done.

Besides recovery time shortened(I assume), does this provide any other benefit/reduce in risk?

I recovered extremely quickly from my SARPE.

Thanks again!
-Z

#6 Post by **Emaciated** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:22 am

What does the quarter size area feel like? Meaning, do you have any sensation there at all? If you touch that area, do you have referred sensation nearby?

It just feels numb, like its been shot up with novocaine, but never recovers. Its right on the "button" of my chin if that makes sense, like right directly in the center. If I lightly tap in the center I feel the tapping on my face, but I don't feel the sensation in the skin. Like I imagine I could put a cigarette out on it and it would not hurt if that paints a clear picture. It doesn't effect my mouth at all. If I press the front of my tongue down into the spot where my bottom lip meets my chin (where they make the surgery insition,) I have total feeling. Its definitely weird when I really think about it, but not bothersome. I typicall don't even notice it until I come here and start reading about genios. Then I remember its there.

#7 Post by **Andantae** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:53 am

Thanks, Karl. I really appreciate your explanation. The post-op numbness has definitely been the weirdest part of the whole surgical journey for me.

#8 Post by **Svensk Tiger** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:02 am

~danielle~ wrote:I had a sliding genioplasty along with a lower jaw advancement. My surgeon did warn me, like meryaten mentioned, that the risk of permanent numbness would be slightly greater than if I had the jaw surgery alone. In my case, i think that if I had done the surgery without the chin, I wouldnt have been happy with the results, no matter how great my bite turned out. The little extra swelling and slightly higher chance of permanent numbness were not enough reason for me to not get the most I could out of my surgery and be truly happy with the results. I dont think it really made my recovery much different than if i had done the jaw surgery alone because either way, you are going under anesthesia and having to recover from the surgery itself... having the chin done at the same time wont make a huge difference.

Exactly what danielle said.

I also asked my surgeon for his honest opinion and he said that he felt that the genio would help balance my features. I agreed and went ahead! I did have some scary moments in the first few months post-surgery as my chin seemed MASSIVE compared to how it was before and I did freak out a little and worried that I'd made the wrong decision. This eventually settled down and I'm now able to see that my chin is not in the least bit "massive" and that my initial wobbles were psychological more than anything and a reaction to the huge physical changes I'd undergone.