Q: Dr. Eppley, I feel so upset because I have gone through quite a bit and I worry I will never be able to get my jaw strong and angled as I have always wished (and previously was). To cut a long story short, I had an open bite, wore 1 year of braces, did the surgery in Korea(I was working there at the time and was aware they regularly perform jaw surgery). During the consultation the Doctor said he would make my jaw more symmetrical. Basically he used a laser to cut both sides of the jaw line (mandible to the chin), he also did a method of v-line (they cut the chin in half, remove bone in middle, then put it back together, to make the chin and jaw all smaller), he did this without telling me (I couldn’t speak Korean). Then the jaw was moved far too back I now have to have revision to move it forward. Now the jawline is very week (resembles a V, mandible has been cut down and no longer angular), and I am back in braces which I have to wear for another year in preparation for the jaw correction surgery (now considered an overbite). I just hope I can get the super manly/angular strong jaw. I used to have a strong large jaw but it was somewhat oval, but still large and masculine, now it is oval but thinner more resembling a female facial structure, which perhaps is the look which Korean surgeons tend to favour due to their obsession with a ‘small face’. I have been researching everywhere on things as I was hoping to find an implant which is able to give a lot of width outwards and downwards too and is able to extend from the mandible all the way down to the chin, but cant find any really. I also worry mandible angle implants will not be wide enough. I really hope you can help me understand more if you have such an implant? Can the Medpor implants be custom made? I have read Medpor mandible implants tend to only come in 11mm for the widest,, which I worry would be too small as I want to go back to my wide (wider than the cheekbone line) jaw which I used to have more of. Is it possible to get Medpor mandible implants 15mm-20mm? Or what is the widest implant size that can be made or is available. I am more favourable towards Medpor because of its ability to form on to the bone and become incorporated in it, rather than silicon or any other materials.
I really hope you will be able to help me with this so I can get a strong angular masculine jaw and I can continue my career as an actor which has temporarily been on hold for the past 2 years since starting the orthognathic surgery. I look forward to receiving your reply.
A: To summarize what your only option is at this point is to have custom made jawline implants off of a 3-D model which can be designed and manufactured in virtually any dimension. These can only be made in silicone, custom made implants from Medpor is not an option because it is not offered by the manufacturer and they would be virtually impossible to place anyway.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis,Indiana