Face Contouring

Facial bone contouring, popularized in South Korea as 'V-line surgery,' is a combination of bone-reshaping operations performed to narrow the lower face into a softer, more tapered profile. The most commonly performed components, identified in the peer-reviewed surgical literature, are mandibular angle reduction (trimming the lateral and lower border of the mandibular angle), zygoma (cheekbone) reduction, and genioplasty (sliding chin osteotomy). The review article 'Zygoma and Mandibular Angle Reduction: Contouring Surgery to Correct the Square Face in Asians' notes that these are the two most commonly performed contouring operations in East Asia for correction of a square face, and that many osteotomy designs have been developed to enhance outcomes and minimize risk (PubMed). Access to the bone is almost always intra-oral so that no external scars are produced. For mandibular angle reduction, a vestibular incision is made along the inside of the lower cheek, the masseter muscle is reflected, and the angle is trimmed using a curved oscillating saw, often in a 'long-curved' design that continues forward along the body of the mandible to avoid a visible secondary angle. For zygoma reduction, anterior intra-oral cuts and a small preauricular skin incision are used to perform osteotomies of the malar body and zygomatic arch; the segment is moved medially and fixed with a plate, screws, or in 'metal-free' variations with bone-only fixation (PubMed, ISAPS Global Survey 2021, cited at). Genioplasty is performed through an intra-oral incision in the lower-lip vestibule; the chin segment is osteotomized and slid forward, backward, vertically or laterally as planned. Facial contouring is typically performed under general anesthesia in 3-5 hours. Patients commonly stay 2-5 nights in the hospital because of significant facial swelling, restricted mouth opening, and a soft or liquid diet for the first 1-2 weeks. International patients usually plan a 14-21 day stay in Korea: surgery and inpatient observation, intra-oral stitch removal at 10-14 days, and clearance to fly once swelling has subsided enough for cabin-pressure tolerance. Korea is consistently ranked at the top of the ISAPS Global Survey for plastic-surgery procedures per capita, with facial contouring among the operations most commonly performed on international patients (ISAPS, cited at). The final facial shape is visible at 3-6 months as bony healing and swelling resolution complete. Three-dimensional CT-based pre-operative planning, intra-operative navigation, and nerve-mapping of the inferior alveolar and facial nerves have become standard in high-volume Korean centers to reduce the risk of nerve injury and asymmetry (PubMed).