Will I Need Cheek Augmentation After Bimaxillary Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I recently had bimaxillary surgery for sleep apnea and TMJ issues, but I was worried if I was advanced too much? I worry about a “chimp” like look, but strangers online and people I know in person say this isn’t the case. 

Either way, I was worried that my cheekbones were left behind in the process and now lack forward projection, though I believe my cheekbones have good width. What would be my options in terms of increasing the forward projection of my cheekbones? 

Also I’m only a couple weeks out from surgery with swelling and splints, hence the swollen lips that can’t close yet, so that can be kept in mind.

A: As you have stated you are early in the recovery process so there remains a lot of swelling yet to resolve. It is probably very unlikely that you will look over advanced when all the swelling subsides.

By definition a bimaxillary advancement always leaves the infraorbital rim and anterior cheekbones behind and is the one significant aesthetic tradeoff of the procedure. There are a variety of implant augmentation methods to augment this newly created area of facial recession secondarily. 

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana