What is a Cleft Chin?

A cleft chin or chin dimples is specifically a chin with a Y-shaped dimple down the middle. Chin dimples are beautiful and very identifiable.

Cleft chin’s are a dominant facial feature, meaning that if one parent has one, a child is more likely to have the same dominant trait. The chin dimple is linked to genetics. It is not a deformity. A cleft may form in one of three ways:

. Skin may develop a split or indent due to the slight opening left in the bone of the lower jaw during some phase of development.

. A dimple may form due to separation in the muscle tissue

. A dimple may simply be a surface dimple.

Not every dimpled chin is present at birth. Some people do not begin to notice this trait until adolescence.

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Before Cleft Chin Surgery

Ideal Candidates for Cleft Chin Surgery

Candidates for Cleft Chin surgery are:

. People over the age of 21 who would like to have cleft chin or chin dimple

. They should be in good overall health

. Have no allergies or health conditions

. Should not smoke

. Should be able to take good care of their skin post treatment.

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How to prepare before Surgery

. Consultation

Before Cleft Chin surgery consultation be prepared to discuss:

. Your surgical goals

. Medical conditions, drug allergies and medical treatments

. Current medications, vitamins, herbal supplements, alcohol, tobacco and recreational drug use (including steroids).

. Previous surgeries

Your surgeon may also:

. Evaluate your general health status and any pre-existing health conditions or risk factors.

. Take photographs for your medical records

. Discuss your options

. Recommend a course of treatment

. Discuss likely outcomes of cleft chin surgery and any risks or potential complications.

. Discuss the use of anesthesia during your procedure

The consultation is the time to ask your surgeon questions. It’s very important to understand all aspects of your surgical procedure. It’s natural to feel some anxiety, whether it’s excitement for your anticipated new look or a bit of preoperative stress. Don’t be shy about discussing these feelings with your surgeon.

. Preparation

In preparing for cleft chin creation, you may be asked to:

. Secure written consent

. Take standard pre-op photograph

. Give prophylactic antibiotic at least 1 hour prior to surgery

. Wash face and neck with soap and water

. Position patient on the operating table (semi-recumbent position)

. Clean face and neck with alcohol swab

. Placement of operative marking

As with any surgical procedure, it’s important to stop blood thinning medications. If you have a history of high blood pressure, diabetes or any other medical conditions, you need to inform your doctor. It’s routine to have patients take oral antibiotics and use an antibacterial oral rinse before surgery. During your consultation, our doctor will review your medical and dental history as well as any current medications and supplements you may be taking.

Risks and Complications

These risks include:

. Infection

. Excessive bleeding

. Scarring

. Swelling

. Undesirable results

You can help to reduce these risks by telling your doctor if you:

. Have central or obstructive sleep apnea

. Smoke

. Use drugs or alcohol

. Are obese

. Have diabetes

. Have high blood pressure or heart disease

. Take aspirin or warfarin

. Have lung or kidney disease

All of these factors can make surgery more dangerous. It’s also important to be prepared for a long recovery period. While your surgeon can estimate how long you’ll need to recover, that timeline varies from person to person. You may recovery faster or slower, depending on your overall health and the type of surgery you have.

If at any point you feel your chin isn’t healing properly, contact your surgeon. They may need to make some adjustments or ensure you don’t have an infection.

During Cleft Chin Surgery

During the Procedure

Creating a cleft chin doesn’t involve any implants. Instead, your surgeon will remove some of the soft tissue below the skin where the dimple should be placed. This is done either with liposuction or a traditional surgical method.

If there’s not enough extra tissue around the dimple, your surgeon may need to remove some of the bone. This is usually done with a small cutting device called a bur, which is inserted through your mouth.

Surgery is done in the clinic, under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis and it takes less than 45 minutes.

It can take up to several months to see results after having surgery to create a cleft chin.

After Cleft Chin Surgery

Recovery timeline

Recovery from Cleft Chin Surgery is relatively straightforward. You don’t need to stay in the hospital. In fact, you can usually go home immediately after the surgery.

Cleft Chin surgery doesn’t require extensive incisions, thus you can expect lower risk of infection, less pain and discomfort, reduced risks of complications and rapid recovery time.

You may or may not experience slight discomfort for a few hours after the anesthesia wears off.

You can go back to work the next day or after a day of rest following your surgery, but avoid strenuous activities like contact sports and exercise that can injure your face.

You will be able to eat after the surgery, but it is recommended to wait until the anesthesia wears off.

Your surgeon will put a facial bandage on the operated area, which will be removed on the 3rd day. Stitches will be removed on the 7th day.

While you’re recuperating at home, you need to call the clinic from time to time to check your healing progress.

Healing period is 7 to 10 days.

After a few weeks, you will notice that the operated area is already taking shape. The dimples or the cleft chin is becoming more apparent and feels natural, like you are born with it. Final results can be seen after a month.

Results

Keep in mind that Cleft Chin Creation will take several weeks to months for results to appear. It is important to note that a very prominent chin cleft is very difficult to completely reverse using surgery alone in order to maintain a natural appearance.