What Procedures Do I Need To Make My Face More Symmetric?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want symmetry in my face after a few events that changed it. I want to breathe better. I want my nose to be as it was before trauma, might need cartilage graft on left side. I want my jaw to be more angular and symmetrical with osteotomy after having broken jaw. I want my left eye to look like my right eye, cause could be previous rhinoplasty or trauma involving prolonged eye poke. Here are some pictures of me.

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. I can clearly see your concerns in all three areas. In looking at your pictures, I can give you the following suggestions for these areas as follows:

1) Nose –  a septorhinoplasty is needed to straighten the septum, harvest a septal cartilage graft, decrease the size of the inferior turbinates, and reconstruct the external nose with a right middle vault spreader graft. Your external nose may benefit by other changes but that is as much as I can say based on these two pictures.

2) Jaw – To correct your asymmetric jaw, I would not do a traditional jaw osteotomy. This requires preparatory orthodontics and a whole change in your bite. The asymmetry could be better camouflaged with a sliding chin osteotomy to correct the midline of the chin and jaw angle implants to create a more angular and defined look. 

3) Eye – Your lower positioned eye needs to have the orbital floor built up with an implant and possibly both the orbital floor and the orbital rim needs to be augmented. This would raise the eye up and help bring it more forward as well.

Your pictures are not really adequate to do good computer imaging but I have attached the best I could do with the one picture.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana