Comprehensive consideration and design for treatment of square face

Abstract

Purpose: From an East Asian traditional esthetic viewpoint, a soft facial appearance seems to be more attractive. A prominent mandibular angle, a high zygomatic bone, and an inharmonious chin strongly lessen the attributes of femininity. Attention should be paid to the zygomatic projection and square mandible from the frontal view and the gonial angle and mental region configuration from the lateral view to obtain a slender oval face (melon seed face).

Patients and methods: From January 2005 through December 2010, 47 patients underwent a combination of 4 operative techniques to reshape a square face: L-shaped osteotomy, V-line osteotomy, mandibular outer cortex splitting ostectomy, and sliding genioplasty.

Results: Outcomes in and feedback information from patients showed that these methods made the square face look more harmonious, with significant improvement of the middle and lower facial contours.

Conclusions: Asians with a square face have different combinations of facial features; thus, surgeries should be customized and designed comprehensively to achieve optimal results.