In short. Your own chin bone is cut, freed as a segment, moved and fixed in a new position. What follows from operating on bone rather than adding material to the chin.
Key points
- The segment is not a graft and not a substitute material.
- It keeps its blood supply through the tissue still attached to it, which is why it heals reliably and why the covering soft tissue follows it.
- Nothing has to be replaced later.
A genioplasty adds nothing to the chin. The surgeon cuts through the patient's own chin bone, frees a segment, moves it, and fixes it in a new position. What results is made of bone that was already there, still covered by its own muscle, fat and skin. There is no implant and no injected material, so nothing has to be replaced later and nothing can be dissolved.
The cut runs across the front of the lower jaw, below the roots of the front teeth, through the full thickness of the bone. It does not detach the segment completely: a bridge at the back keeps it joined to the jaw, and the segment slides on that bridge into the planned position. The soft tissue over the chin is never lifted off, so the chin pad travels with the segment. The result reads as a chin of a different shape rather than as a chin with something on it.
The segment then has to be held while the bone heals. Small plates and screws do that, and they stay in the jaw. A soft join forms first and hardens over the following months. Most people chew soft food within weeks and return to ordinary food over the next month or two, and the bone is substantially healed by the end of the third month.
Three things follow from this being bone surgery rather than surface surgery. A segment can be moved forward or back, down or up, and rotated, and differently on each side. The change is not undone by removing something: if the plates come out, the bone stays where it healed. And a branch carrying feeling from the lower lip and chin runs through the jaw close to the cut.
Your own bone, in a new place
The segment is not a graft and not a substitute material. It keeps its blood supply through the tissue still attached to it, which is why it heals reliably and why the covering soft tissue follows it. Nothing has to be replaced later.
What the operation cannot do is equally specific. It does not move the teeth, so it does not correct a bite. It does not change the jaw above the chin or the shape of the face at the cheekbone. And it cannot be repeated indefinitely, because each further movement means another cut.
What you are agreeing to
- A cut through living bone, made from inside the mouth, with no visible scar on the face.
- Numbness of the lower lip and chin that usually improves over months and may not return completely.
- A change that is fixed once the bone heals, and that reversing would require a second operation.
The consultation that matters says which direction the segment would move, by roughly how much, and what that does to the lip, the crease above it and the feeling in the chin. A patient who can repeat those three in their own words has had an assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Is the bone broken on purpose during this operation?
Yes, in a controlled way. The cut is planned in advance from imaging, is made through the full thickness of the bone, and leaves a bridge at the back so the segment stays joined to the jaw. The segment is then moved and held with small plates and screws while the join heals, in the same way a fracture heals once it has been set.
Does the operation leave a scar on my face?
The approach is made from inside the mouth, so there is no scar on the skin. The incision inside the mouth closes within the first weeks and is not visible afterwards. The trade is that you cannot see the healing join from outside, which is one reason the recovery is judged over months rather than days.
Would an X-ray show the plates afterwards?
It would. The plates and screws are metal and show clearly on any radiograph or scan of the jaw, and a future clinician reading an image of your chin would see them and know the bone had been operated on. That record is part of the reason to tell any dentist or doctor who treats you later that this operation was done.
Risks & Limitations
- Numbness of the lower lip and chin is expected after a cut in the jaw; it usually improves over months and may not return completely.
- A second operation in the same bone carries a higher chance of numbness that does not recover fully.
- The change is fixed once the bone heals, and reversing it means cutting again rather than removing something.
- Final results are judged at three months or later, and more fairly at a year, not in the first weeks.
When to Seek Care
- Difficulty breathing or chest pain — seek emergency care immediately.
- Fever with swelling, redness or discharge over the jaw, which may mean infection around the plates.
- A numb area of the lip or chin that is getting larger rather than smaller after the first weeks.
- Loss of movement in the lower lip, or an incision inside the mouth that opens.
References & Further Reading
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) — procedure and safety guidance
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, UK) — relevant guidance
- Cochrane Library — systematic reviews
- Chinese Medical Association Plastic Surgery Branch — clinical guidance
This page is patient education, not medical advice, and it does not cite individual studies. Discuss your own case with a qualified clinician. To arrange an assessment at Chongqing West District Hospital, see Contact & Consultation.