Question about appearance for all you BSSO survivors

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#1 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:26 pm

I was wondering, I will be having BSSO in May. I keep trying to imagine how I will look. My doctor says my changes will probably be pretty minimal since I don't have to be advanced super far.

I keep pushing my jaw forward to try and get a visual of what it will look like after surgery. Did any of your folks do this? and if so, how close did it come to what you really look like now that your surgery is done? What were the biggest changes you saw after advancement?

I guess what I really want to know is...can you really get a pretty fair/accurate representaton of what you will look like by pushing your jaw forward, or will it be quite different then that look?

Brandy

#2 Post by **Lillers** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:56 pm

Absolutely, I've been jutting my face forward to get an idea of how I'll look, but as my surgery isn't until December 18th, it's all kind of academic at this point.

Secondly, jutting my jaw forward did not show me the illusion I have of having lost weight - the sides of my face have become slimmer looking due to the new jaw position. No idea why jutting did not give the same illusion ...

I'll also say that somehow the op has given me an illusion of having a narrower, or more tapered chin - my natural jawline is incredibly square (which I always hated). This definitely never showed up if I experimented with jutting my jaw. Again, dunno why.

I'm stoked to hear this stuff, Meryaten! It sounds like you and I have a similar facial structure and I too dislike my squarish jaw â€“ my fear was that it would become even more pronounced post-op, so I'm glad to hear that's not how it works.

#3 Post by **smile2006** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:17 pm

I can't really answer your question in that I didn't ever jut my jaw forward before surgery to "test" the look. However, for me a lower jaw advancement of 8mm and a chin advancement of 2 mm (plus a slight tipping up of the chin), resulted in a much more defined jaw line for me. It (the lower jaw) actually looks sort of gently squared now from the front and much shorter from the side (profile view) both of which I really like. I agree it is hard to know because you can't do the auto-rotation that will happen when trying to simulate the look by pushing your lower jaw forward. HOW FAR is your lower jaw being advanced??? I seem to remember being told at some point that anything less than 5mm may do wonders for the bite but really won't impact appearance all that much.

#4 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:41 pm

I'm not sure how much, but it will be less than a 5mm advancement. I'm thinking about 4mm. I had a 5mm overjet to begin with...braces have improved it a bit so I'm guessing 3-4mm max.

Thanks for the info that is kindof what I was looking to know. I'm sure I will lose weight etc so it all kindof goes together. Just wondered if anyone else had tried to see their post op look this way, and how the end results compared.

Brandy

#5 Post by **Joanne** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:50 am

I had lower jaw advancement (7 mm) and genioplasty (reverse sliding) done November 8, and I can see the difference in the profile for sure already, though it's harder to see in the chin. I have a lot of swelling and numbness and it will probably be like that for awhile until I'm allowed more motion in my jaw (am tightly banded in back plus have external wires going through my cheeks). The swelling on the sides of my face has gone down alot though and I can see the new contours of my face coming through, and it's really helped keep me positive about it all.
~Joanne

#6 Post by **Joanne** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:04 pm

Thank you!

#7 Post by **nvcarissa** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:20 am

Jutting my jaw forward gave me a much harsher appearance than the surgery did. I believe this is because the surgery only moves a part of the jaw forward, whereas jutting my jaw foward pushed the whole jaw foward and (A) made my jaw look very square and like I had an underbite and (B) was not a good representation of what actually happens with surgery.

I was terrified that I would look "mean" when the surgery was done, but it is far from the case. It lengthened my face from the front (l got asked if I lost weight), and made my chin much stronger without being harsh. I am super pleased with the results.