Chin Reduction Surgery Cost Korea: What Sets It for a Long or Square Chin? Methods, Reviews and Recovery

Hello, I'm Dr. Im Young Min, Chief Director and board-certified plastic surgeon at VG Plastic Surgery in Gangnam, Seoul. Facial contouring is one of the centers I work in, along with eyes, nose, body and breast.

Profile

Im Young Min

Chief Director · Board-certified in Plastic Surgery

• — Ph.D. in Medicine
• — Internship and residency, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
• — Board-certified plastic surgeon, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

For contouring, we map your nerves and bone thickness on CT before the plan is made. Three board-certified anesthesiologists work here full time, so one of them watches your blood pressure, pulse and breathing during the operation and the surgeon does nothing but operate. Foreign patients pay the same surgical fee as Korean patients, and an interpreter is provided.

I'm writing this because "chin reduction" on a quote can mean three or four different operations, and people often compare those quotes without knowing which one each covers.

There's no single figure, because the cost follows the operation your chin needs. Lowering bone height, narrowing the width, moving a segment of bone, removing an old implant and adjusting soft tissue are different amounts of surgery, with different anesthesia time and different days in Seoul.

If you're not sure which of these you'd need, send two photos on WhatsApp: one straight on and one in profile, in daylight, with your back teeth together. Ask one question with them: is the length in my chin coming from bone?

What does chin reduction actually change?

People tend to blur three dimensions of the chin together. Height runs from the lower lip to the bottom of the chin. Width is what you see from the front. Projection is how far the chin sits forward in profile.

A long chin is usually a height problem. A square chin is usually a width problem, and it often continues into the jaw angles. A receding chin is the opposite of both: it needs more chin, so it isn't a reduction at all, and taking bone away would make it look weaker. If a receding chin is your worry, chin surgery is still on the table, just a different kind.

Two structures set the limits. The mental nerve leaves the bone on each side of the chin and carries feeling to the lower lip and chin skin, and the roots of the lower front teeth sit above the area surgeons work on. Korean contouring surgeons have published on how to avoid injuring the nerve that runs through the lower jaw during jaw contouring (Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery), and that is why bone work in this area is planned on imaging rather than by eye.

Then there's the soft tissue. Skin, fat and the chin muscle drape over the bone, and they don't shrink one-for-one when bone is removed. Much of the disappointment after chin surgery starts in that gap between what came off the bone and what the face shows.

Chin shaving surgery, sliding genioplasty or a chin implant: which method fits?

In short, these are the general families of operation used in facial contouring for the chin. Which one makes sense depends on the dimension that is out of proportion and on what the CT shows.

Shaving has a ceiling. You can only burr so far before you approach the nerve and tooth roots, so it changes width and surface contour more than height. A sliding genioplasty cuts a horizontal segment of the lower chin bone and repositions it, and in a long chin a thin strip can be removed so the segment sits higher. It is more surgery, held in place with small plates or screws as is standard for this kind of bone cut.

People often search "sliding genioplasty vs chin implant" as if the two were rivals. For a receding chin they can be. For a long chin, an implant adds length, so it isn't the tool for reduction.

Say your chin looks long in photos, your teeth meet normally, and you had a silicone chin implant placed years ago. Before planning any bone cut, I would want to know how much of that length is the implant and how much is bone height. Removing the implant may account for part of the change, and the CT shows how much bone height is left and where the nerve exits. If the bottom of the chin is also heavy and pointed, the soft tissue gets its own attention, because cutting more bone under it can make things worse.

Witch chin and soft tissue: when more bone removal backfires

A witch chin is a crease under the chin with soft tissue that hangs forward over it, giving a pointed, drooping look from the side. It is mainly a soft-tissue problem. Shaving more bone underneath removes support from tissue that has already slid down, and the droop can become more visible.

This is why a chin that "looks long" in a selfie is not always a chin that needs shortening. Camera distance, the angle of the lower lip and the way the chin muscle tightens when you close your mouth all change the impression. Photos with relaxed lips and with your back teeth together tell a surgeon more than a smiling selfie.

A bite problem is another matter. If your lower teeth sit well ahead of your upper teeth, a cosmetic chin operation won't fix that, and it's a question for an orthodontist first.

Chin reduction surgery cost Korea: what decides it

The cost of chin reduction follows a few things you can see in your own case.

The operation itself comes first. Shaving, a sliding genioplasty, implant removal and soft-tissue work take different time in the operating room, and some chins need two of them together.

Whether the chin is done alone matters too. A square chin is often part of a wide lower face, and then it may be planned with the jaw angles; I explain that choice in square jaw surgery in Korea: jaw angle or long-curve reduction. One combined plan costs differently from a chin on its own.

Anesthesia and imaging are part of the figure. Bone work on the chin is commonly done under general anesthesia, with an anesthesiologist present throughout, and the CT is part of planning.

Previous surgery adds work. Removing an old implant, scar tissue from an earlier operation or a revision of a previous genioplasty all change the plan.

Other operations in the same trip change anesthesia time and how long you stay. Some people add body work, such as liposuction in Korea or breast reduction in Korea, to the same visit, and that belongs in the cost conversation from the start.

Foreign patients pay the same surgical fee as Korean patients here. You'll find facial contouring alongside our other centers on the VG Plastic Surgery home page. For the figure in your own case, ask on WhatsApp what chin reduction would cost for you, and attach your profile photo.

What do reviews of chin surgery get right?

Three claims come up again and again in review threads about chin surgery, and they aren't equally true.

"The swelling took months to fully go down." Broadly true. Visible swelling usually settles over the first weeks, but the final contour of bone surgery often takes months to show, so early photos say little.

"My lower lip was numb." Also commonly true. Because the mental nerve sits next to the chin bone, altered feeling in the lip and chin is a frequent temporary reaction after bone work, and it usually improves over time. Persistent numbness is less common, but it is a real risk.

"Shaving is always safer" or "sliding always looks better." Neither is a rule. The right operation depends on whether your chin is long, wide or soft-tissue heavy, and a review written about someone else's chin can't tell you that. Clinic lists in forums have the same limit, which I wrote about in five things a facial contouring clinic list can't show about your bone.

How does recovery usually go if you're flying home?

Chin bone work is commonly done through an incision inside the lower lip, so there is usually no cut on the skin of the face. For the first days, most people expect swelling, a tight feeling in the lower lip, soft food, and careful mouth rinsing to keep the incision clean. A supportive dressing or garment around the chin is common in the early period.

The flight is the part travelers underestimate. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that flying after surgery raises the risk of blood clots, and advises planning your follow-up care at home before you go. Before you book a return flight, ask how many days to plan in Seoul for the operation you're considering, and leave a spare day in your plans.

Risks, and who should wait

Risks and side effects to know

Common, temporary reactions: swelling and bruising across the lower face, tightness when smiling or speaking, altered feeling in the lower lip and chin, and some difficulty eating for the first days. These usually fade over weeks, with the last swelling taking longer; how fast varies from person to person.

Less common: infection at the incision inside the mouth, asymmetry, sagging of the soft tissue over a reduced chin, injury to the roots of the lower front teeth, numbness that doesn't fully return, and problems with plates or screws. Complications of lower-jaw contouring have been studied in large case series, for example a five-year review of 588 cases in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, and they're the reason the plan is built around the nerve and tooth roots.

In general medicine, these are reasons to wait or reconsider: pregnancy or breastfeeding, an active gum or tooth infection, facial growth that hasn't finished, a bite that is significantly off, a bleeding disorder or blood-thinning medication you can't pause, and heavy smoking, which slows healing. Your suitability is decided at the in-person exam with the CT.

If something feels wrong after you're home, go to a local doctor or emergency department for fever, pus or a bad taste from the incision, swelling that suddenly grows on one side, trouble breathing or swallowing, or leg swelling and chest pain after the flight. Carry a copy of your operative record and medication list, as the CDC recommends, so a doctor at home can see what was done.

If you've had any chin surgery or an implant before, write down what was done and roughly when, add your travel dates, and send them on WhatsApp with the question: how many days should I plan in Seoul for this?

What to send first

One clear profile photo with your lips relaxed is enough to start a conversation on WhatsApp, and you can ask before booking anything. Ask what chin reduction would cost for your case, and which method that figure assumes. When you come to Seoul, I examine your chin, the CT maps your bone and nerves, and I recommend the operation that fits your face, including a smaller one when that is all you need.

Related pages:

• Facial Contouring surgery at VG Plastic Surgery