Mentalis Resection

In patients who have responded well to Botox treatments in the mentalis (chin) to improve the dimpling in this region, we offer a permanent solution, called a mentalis resection.  This procedure, which is performed in the office under local anesthesia, involves making a small incision underneath the chin, in order to permanently resect and divide the synkinetic mentalis fibers which cause this dimpling.  After a few numbing injections to anesthetize the area, the procedure takes about 30 minutes to complete, and recovery is minimal.  Patient have a few sutures in place underneath the chin that will either dissolve on their own, or need to be removed about 2 weeks later, and sometimes minor swelling and bruising that typically resolves within a week or so.  It would be very rare for this procedure to have any negative effect on oral competence, speech or smile, and we usually find the results very closely emulate the results we see from Botox in this area, just in a permanent fashion.