Will I Have Lax Soft Tissues If My Sliding Genioplasty Is Reversed?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a sliding genioplasty of 5mm forward 8 weeks ago. My face was already long, which I remarked to the surgeon many times, Now my face looks so much longer and I honestly hate the result and wasn’t what I expected at all. A) Is the length of my face going to decrease significantly from here? B) If I decide to move forward with a reversal, is there always laxity, fullness and damage to the soft tissue (I’m only 28 years old)? C) One of my problems is that my lip became thin, is a reversal going to make the lip worse or spoil any chances of the lip getting back to its normal size? Thank you so much, Doctor.

A:In answer to your postop sliding genioplasty questions:

1) What you see at 8 weeks postop is 98% of what the aesthetic outcome will be.

2) With only a 5mm forward movement I would think that the risk of soft tissue laxity with a reversal would be low.

3) A sliding genioplasty reversal is not likely to make the lower lip any thinner…but it wlll also not restore it to its original thickness.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgery