Metal Mouth Message Board

I had double jaw surgery in June of 2016. I hate how my face changed, but I don't know if there is anything that can be done about it. I didn't have a very bad bite before surgery; I had a crossbite and my teeth were edge to edge. However, the surgeon made a lot of changes to my jaw. He widened my upper jaw by a full cm, moved it forward 3 mm, rotated both jaws to the left and rotated my upper jaw down. Initially, he told me that my bite could be fixed with only upper jaw surgery, but then changed to double jaw quite close to when I was actually supposed to have the surgery. I feel like he moved my jaws more than necessary because he wanted to change my facial features in a specific way and I hate how they have changed. Before the surgery I had brought up a concern about my nose getting wider and expressed that I wanted to avoid this from happening. He told me that he wouldn't widen it. When I got out of surgery and while I was still wired shut, he told me that he widened it 4mm at the base. It looks huge in comparison to my other features and now has a crater in the center from being widened. He also pointed up the tip of my nose a lot, despite me genetically having a turned down tip. If I had wanted my nose shape to change as much as it did, then I would have gotten a rhinoplasty and I feel like I have been blindsided by this as well as him rotating my upper jaw down. He never discussed that this would be done and it has caused my already small upper lip to recede even further. I have found that my upper lip has lengthened and I have no upper teeth show at rest, and only some when I smile normally. If I really force myself to smile a lot then I can get my front teeth to fully show, but then my nostrils raise up a lot. When I smile from the front, my teeth don't look that strange, but when looking at my profile, it looks like all of the teeth on my upper jaw are pointing backwards instead of straight down. My eye shape has also changed because of this surgery. I'm not sure if it's because of swelling that is still present or because he widened my jaw, but my eyes look smaller and practically disappear when I smile now.

I tried to talk to the initial surgeon about how unhappy I was, but as soon as I brought up my first complaint (that I didn't like my nose being upturned), he brushed me off and said that I would age better now. He seemed to be getting annoyed just by that one complaint, so I was too scared to bring anything else up. I have never had confidence issues like I do now and have never been more depressed. I am actively working on my mental health, but I want to explore all of my options if there is even a small possibility of remedying this. At this point in time, I would absolutely deal with the risks of getting jaw surgery again to get my face looking like what it did before, even just slightly. I went to see a separate surgeon and he told me that since my bite was fixed he would not recommend a second surgery. He said that there is no surgery out there that could reverse what the first surgery did, which doesn't seem right to me. If something is changed in surgery, can it not be undone? He recommended that I look into a rhinoplasty or other cosmetic surgery, but I don't believe that the things that I dislike about my results would be remedied without a second jaw surgery to reverse the first one as much as possible. Has anyone gone through this and had good results? Or is it even possible to reversed this type of surgery? Thanks.

Oh jawregret ... I completely feel for you as I am in almost EXACTLY the same situation as you are. I have spent the past 12 months begging my surgeon to AT LEAST down-graft my maxilla a few mm so that I have some tooth-show (I have none)! He insists that a down-graft of the maxilla is too risky (not sure if this is true or just him trying to get out of doing another surgery) and he keeps trying to push me down the rhinoplasty/lip lift road also. My concern is that this will leave me with a concentration of features in the middle of my face, and what I miss is my old mid-face length.

Some maxfac surgeons are wonderful, but some have no aesthetic concern ... they are purely functionally oriented! Surgeons, as a breed, can also be extraordinarily insecure and defensive if you try to speak to them about your concerns. I remember when I first pointed out that I had zero tooth-show my surgeon brushed me off with "well you are ageing, women lose tooth-show as they get older"! Are you kidding me? Six months prior to that conversation (and his surgery) I had a bloody acute class II with full tooth at rest! The only reason I had no tooth-show now was because he had removed too much vertical excess and over impacted me! Oh the frustration!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you're definitely not alone, sadly there are a lot of stories such as this around on the boards. I have been trying to get my surgeon to give me a revision down-graft for a year now ... every time we get close to arranging a revision, he reverts back to saying "oh it's too dangerous, plastic surgery is a better option". And another year of my life passes me by! Anyway, I all I can offer you is my understanding and support. I will be following this post with interest.

He Eranthe, how did you bring it up to your surgeon? Did you schedule a special consultation in order to talk to them?

Just wondering, were you ever able to get another opinion on a reversal?

If you don't mind me asking, did you get your surgery done in Canada or the U.S.? My sister is in a similar situation and we are desperately seeking ways to reverse the doctor's lies and mistakes.

Did anyone ever get the reversal? My surgeon over impacted me too. I am so so unhappy. He did ummer,lower jaw and chin. He said that if I really wanted he could put the jaws back prior to how it was before surgery, but I have lost all my trust in him.

I am so desperate I just want my face and smile back.
Please if anyone can answer it would be such a relief.

almost the exact same situation
going to the original surgeon in about 2 weeks to see if they will do a reversal but have lost all trust in him
a lot of forum threads I've read say that it's not a good idea to do reversal with a doctor that insists they have done a perfect job...very torn as any alternatives would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars
how are you holding up Zola?

Dear Regret, Did you have the double jaw surgery reversed? Are you happy with the result? I had initial double jaw surgery and genioplasty surgery in Dec 2018 and genioplasty revision 4 months later. I am so unhappy. I was a pretty lady...I just wanted straight teeth! Now my whole face has changed and I know I am no longer attractive. I look as though I have had a stroke because the soft tissue, normal placement of the skin over my mouth is no longer centered around my teeth which causes one side of lip to curve inward. My lips have disappeared and my once high cheek bones appear to have dropped leaving me looking very plain. My small chin and slight overbite was part of what made me unique. Now my chin juts forward, my face is too long for the rest of my features and my teeth, though perfectly in the center of face, don't line up with the center of my lips or nose tip. It actually makes my nose look like it is way off to the side. I know it is true because no one tells me the difference has been good and people who knew me before the surgery who see me now don't recognize me unless I tell them who I am! A word to anyone being told by surgeon or orthodontist: if you like your looks, DON'T let them touch your jaws! If you are truly unhappy with how you look now, just know it can get worse. It is painful, expensive and no way to know if the results will be an improvement.

Hi, I am in the same situation. I got DJS and I was over impacted, so nose got very wide and upturned, my mid face is now protruded and odd... especially when I smile I look like grinch/monkey, face shape became short and square (before ovale), lips became thinner. I look much older. I deeply regret this surgery I just wish I have never done it and have my old smile back. I was never told that my face would be deformed to this point. Did someone get a revision surgery - maxilla downgraft? Or tried anything else that improved the look?