I sort of swore to myself that i wouldn’t post here again before having surgery, but here we are. Here are my pics:
https://imgur.com/a/Wcqeqr0So, in short: i grew up with a crossbite that f*cked up my face a bit. I already had a rhinoplasty 5 years ago, but was not/am not satisfied with the results. I was planning to have a private BIMAX surgery at the end of my orthodontics treatment (which just ended). I just had a consultation with the surgeon who was supposed to operate me here in my native country, and it pretty much confused me further more than clarified anything.
The surgeon basically told me what some others on this forum and elsewhere have told me before, that certain measurements on my face are already perfectly fine and that she does not recommend the BIMAX surgery for me. She said that if i wanted to have surgery then she recommends a genioplasty (with an implant).
I must say I wasn’t very convinced by this consultation. For one, she recommended a chin implant and i have heard mostly bad things about them, as compared to a more invasive surgery where the bone of the chin is moved. She also told me that i should have shaved before the consultation, so that it would have been easier for her to assess my situation. I underwent 3 different types of x-rays/scans before going to the consultation and have a very light beard. It was pretty insulting to hear that i should have shaved on top of this. Why the hell didn’t you inform me before the consultation/ why don’t you have a shaving kit in the clinic if this is so important? It seemed amateurish. She also kept taking measurements from my face with a handheld ruler, putting it against the scan pics on the computer screen. Maybe this was just an ”artistic quirk” of hers, but it wasn’t exactly convincing, it seemed to me that she wasn’t quite familiar with modern technology.
The thing is, i met with a male surgeon before her (working/operating within the same clinic!) who told me i should NOT get a genioplasty, because the result could look a bit ”silly”, and i should perhaps go for a BIMAX instead, IF I decide to have surgery. Although he also told me that there are always such great risks involved that i should basically be a bit crazy to do it..
Some people indeed claim that in cases similar to mine: ”Genio may lengthen your face or create an unpleasant step off in profile, make your chin pointy. You may end up looking different, but no better.” (a quote from an another thread) And i see their point. In any case, i feel very confused about my situation, i’m perfectly aware of my imperfections but keep getting mixed messages about what to do about them.
My own opinion:
I feel that my nose is still a big part of the problem. The tip was actually slightly collapsed and downward pointing before the rhino and the angle of the tip is still not quite there. Having a bimax surgery could solve this problem by lifting the base of the nose. BIMAX is absolutely not required if all i want to do is lift my nose, but then i feel that doing this by having an another rhinoplasty + genio would just make the other problems more apparent. (as it did the first time)
The other problems: my face already looks a bit elongated from certain angles as a result of the crossbite causing slight recession in the mid/lower face area, and having genioplasty could add to the problem. I also feel that if i wanted to address the maxillar recession with suborbital implants, it would look stupid without addressing the jaw area first. Addressing this problem is not on the top of my list, but that is just because of the other problems i’m having, and i’m afraid that if i had the genio, (and possibly the another rhino), the recession in the orbital rim area would suddenly become so apparent that it would have to be addressed. (except that in this point we couldn’t)
So, it’s a complicated question since the affected areas include everything below my eyebrows + my nose. The one rhinoplasty i already had convinced me that if i want to fix my face for good, i need to put ”all in” and not half-ass it again, so i will not go under a knife again unless i’m absolutely convinced it’s the right way to go.
Here are my options as I see them:
1) Having a genioplasty and possibly an another rhino COULD solve most of the issues i’m having. They could just as well complicate things further and mess up my face for good.
2) A SUCCESSFUL BIMAX surgery + suborbital implants (in my view) would definitely solve all the problems i’m having, with a significantly greater nerve damage risk involved as compared to the genio route. Needless to say, a surgery that addresses so many areas on my face at the same time would be quite complicated. There is only very slight horizontal projection needed, it’s as much about the CCW rotation. One must also be careful not to mess up the nose, as i have a big nose and the nostrils widening too much as a result of the surgery would pretty much destroy my looks.
Both options have their pros and cons, but i would say that all in all the risk is about the same. It's just a different kind of risk. If i go with the genio route and it's unsuccessful i will mostly risk time and money along with some mental health (all of which i have already lost more than enough because of these problems). Then again if i have the BIMAX and they botch it I could lose my health and as a result pretty much everything.
