Can I Have A Sliding Genioplasty with 14mm to16mm Forward Movement?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m interested in genioplasty for both horizontal and vertical lengthening.My local surgeon can achieve 12 mm horizontally and 5 mm vertically but will not do more horizontal advancement due to limited bone contact at the lateral wings.

I’ve seen that you’ve performed 14-16 mm advancements. Is that always possible, or does it depend on factors like chin thickness?

Thank you.

A:A 12mm forward movement with 5mms vertical is a pretty good movement. But at 14 to 16mms the wings would still have some bony contact which isn’t that important since it would be  grafted with either allogeneic bone chips or a bone block anyway. The real question is not about the bone contact but whether the bony chin will permit such a forward movement to be done. The stretch of the attached soft tissues to the chin bone segment may or may not allow for such a movement to be done. That can never be known for certain until it is actually attempted.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon