What is Genioplasty?

Genioplasty is the saving of the genion. Genion is the anatomical description of the chin. It has some normal variance, but in some cases there are some abnormalities. Those abnormalities can have an effect on the aesthetics of the face.

There are different forms that the chin can have and be improved. For example, a patient may have excess bone in the horizontal direction or excess bone on the vertical direction, or in some cases in both directions. In these cases, we can perform a genioplasty where we will create a small incision under the chin, exposing the bone, and removing part of the bone, depending on which direction has more bone. If it’s in the horizontal direction, we’ll remove bone horizontally. If it is in the vertical direction, we will remove more bone vertically. Of course, we always reshape the chin in a three dimensional view, and we see the chin as a unit.

This procedure can be easily performed under local anesthesia. We take advantage of the latest technology for example using a very gentle liposuction,  which is one of the best techniques to harvest fat. In the same case here if plastic surgery is performed using the piezoelectric effect and phenomenon, the piezoelectric technique is used to remove and reshape the bone.

Now, in cases where there is a bone deficiency, this can be more complex. In this case, like also in the preview on the excess bone, an assessment of the occlusion in necessary. The occlusion is important to evaluate if a sliding genioplasty, or a double jaw surgery with a sagittal split osteotomies should be performed as well. Then, we can perform a sliding genioplasty, which is basically a horizontal cut on the chin bone, and that will be advanced. This can be advanced and secured with screws.

An extra benefit of a sliding genioplasty is that the tongue muscles are moved forward so the patient can breathe much easier, which can improve his or her sleep apnea. This benefit is a very important factor that the patient is normally made aware of. The genioplasty and work on the bone of the chin is an excellent way to improve the facial aesthetics and contouring of the face. Being able to perform a genioplasty under local anesthesia, with the use of piezoelectric surgical techniques, is an advancement in the science and in the field of maxillofacial surgery.