Uh, no. Reality means reality. I have the means to change my face and hopefully correct the issues. I want a normal face, that's it. Seems most jaw surgery at least accomplishes that. That's the reality of the situation.
Again, you're more than free to begin a separate thread dedicated to your epistemological speculations about the nature of "reality" If you wish. I can start you off by suggesting you wiki nominalist, naturalist, empiricist, post-modern/socially constructed, idealist, pragmatist etc.. positions. This thread is dedicated to DISTRACTION OSTEOGENESIS.
I really DO NOT UNDERSTAND what the big deal is with some of you people!!?? Some people just want to normalize their face....good for you! Some people may already have "normal-ish" faces and want to use jaw surgery as a means to attain some kind of aesthetic ideal...and good for you too! No one side is morally justified (or the many, indeed most people who exist somewhere between these polarities) in condemning the other with regards to their motivations.
Indeed, I would say that most everyone would like to maximize the aesthetic outcome of this operation.
I started this thread for people who are interested in the possibilities of distraction osteogenesis and it's aesthetic advantages and applications (if any!) --clearly there are doctors using this technology both in place of jaw surgery and to supplement the augmentation of other parts of the face related to jaw surgery. Indeed it's more widespread than we assume and more specific applications may be available in the future, but that's no reason we shouldn't keep an open mind about it and discuss it.
I for one believe that technologies for major aesthetic enhancement are currently in existence, but you have to be very careful about what procedures, surgeons etc. you use. For example, if you didn't know about maxillofacial surgery you might go to a PS as I did a few years back and get recommended a chin implant. I did a bit of research thankfully and found out that genioplasties are far superior both aesthetically and in relation to various health parameters than a genioplasty. I further found out that a BSSO could approximate many of the results of jaw angle implants, though not in all directions (i.e. width or gonal angle shape). I had teeth extracted by my ortho, but had I known about distraction osteogenesis I would have most certainly had that done first to make space for my crowded teeth instead of extractions, then I might have gone on and had traditional jaw surgery.
The point is, this site is a place for free discussion and indeed criticism(with evidence on both sides) but more often the discussion is devolving into ad hominem attacks based on the presumption that some people are harbouring "unrealistic" or more probably socially unsanctioned aspirations. I really don't care whether you aspire to look normal, heroic, subhuman, or monstrous, I just want to get a clearer sense of what technologies for craniofacial remodelling are out there and what they can do.
For those interested, "beauty," in my understanding is a "gestalt" that is, it is predominantly
relational. I agree you cannot simply attain aesthetic harmony by augmenting one part of your face, though for some it may be all they need to complete the ideal gestalt. For others, tweaking or augmenting other parts of the face may be necessary which is why I think distraction osteogenesis needs to be thought about in relation to overall craniofacial remodelling.
