Submental Fat Transfer: An Approach to Enhance Soft Tissue Conditions in Patients With Submental Lipomatosis After Orthognathic Surgery

Soft tissue changes after orthognathic surgery and their effects on the esthetic appearance of the patient can be the most challenging and sometimes undesired parts of this procedure. Although the soft tissue profile is improved in many orthognathic surgeries, suboptimal soft tissue changes may necessitate some special interventions. To overcome these problems, the authors present a technique based on transferring the submental fat (in patients with submental lipomatosis) to the lips, paranasal areas, or other sites of the face instead of discarding it. According to this technique, in patients with submental lipomatosis, submental fat can be used not only to compensate some of the unpleasant soft tissue effects of orthognathic procedures (eg, thinning of the upper lip after mandibular setback), but also to improve pre-existing soft tissue problems, which may be worse after orthognathic surgeries (eg, a poor neck and chin profile). Although submental fat liposuction is a traditional technique to improve the neck and chin profile, the present technique is based on transferring the harvested fat to other sites of the face (lips, paranasal areas, etc) instead of discarding it.