Contact & consultation

Arranging an assessment

Outpatient appointments are booked through the hospital on the numbers below; international patients can ask for Michael Yu. Bring a note of what you notice and when it started, whether the two sides of your face have always differed, whether you clench your teeth or grind them, whether orthodontic treatment is planned or was recently completed, and any previous facial surgery. Each of those changes the plan rather than the conversation around it.

What the consultation should establish

Which layer is producing the width: bone, the masseter muscle, the fat over either, or a combination. How thick the mandible is along the planned line, and where the marginal mandibular nerve runs. Whether the two sides differ in a way that needs to be taken into account. And what the soft tissue over the jaw is likely to do once the bone beneath it changes.

The questions worth asking

Is the bone actually the cause of the width, or is it the muscle or the fat? What does the imaging show about how much can safely be removed? Where does the nerve run in my case, and what would a weakness of the lower lip mean if it happened? How long will the swelling hide the result, and at what point would you judge it? What would you do if it turned out to be too much? A surgeon who can answer the last question is planning conservatively, which is what this operation requires.

Before you commit

No decision needs to be made at the first appointment, and for this operation the imaging usually has to be seen before a plan is meaningful. Take the plan away, read it against the guides on this site, and come back with questions. A discount that expires, or pressure to book before imaging has been reviewed, is information about the clinic rather than about your jaw.