Facial Feminization Surgery Before and After with Osseous Genioplasty and Jaw Contouring

This patient underwent facial feminization with a genioplasty and jaw contouring. The procedures visible in these photos are listed below:

Genioplasty
Jaw contouring

Specifically to this patient, she underwent an osseous genioplasty. An osseous genioplasty describes a type of chin surgery in which the chin is cut and rearranged or repositioned. This type of genioplasty is a powerful technique for facial feminization since it allows for movements in multiple directions (forward, backward, left, right), rotations (clockwise, counter-clockwise), and changes in the width of the chin (shortening, lengthening, narrowing, widening).

This patient underwent a T-shaped osseous genioplasty. This allowed for the chin to be shortened in the vertical dimension and narrowed in the horizontal dimension. She also underwent a chin advancement to move the chin forward. This is a somewhat counter-intuitive maneuver since men usually have a more prominent chin and women usually have a less prominent chin. For this patient, her chin was too far back for both women and men. Moving the chin forward allowed for positioning in a more aesthetically pleasing location without creating a masculine result.

There are multiple surgical methods for changing the shape of the chin. Many surgeons are comfortable placing chin implants. This is a less technically demanding procedure and it only allows for movements that enlarge the chin in any dimension. Chin implants cannot make the chin smaller in any dimension. The osseous genioplasty performed in this patient allowed for the chin to be narrowed, shortened, and advanced. This combination of movements is not possible with chin implants.

An osseous genioplasty frequently requires additional training in craniofacial surgery or gender-affirming surgery in order to be performed properly and safely.