A triangular-shaped face is popular among young Koreans in their 20s and 30s because they think it is beautiful.

Demand for surgical operations to have this “V-line” shape is growing. But many of those who want to change their looks often find difficulty choosing surgical methods because many facial surgeries carry a high risk of side effects and cause excruciating pain.

To this, Siot osteotomy has been grabbing attention because it cuts a smaller part of the chin bone than other existing methods. It is the latest surgical method developed by a doctor at Face Line Center of Braun Plastic Surgery in Seoul.

Derived from the Korean consonant “ㅅ” (pronounced siot in English), the method cuts the lower part of chin bone in a siot shape. The lower part of chin bone is cut into three pieces. Then the doctor takes out the chin bone in the middle and affixes the two other parts. Finally, the lower part is attached to the upper part of the face to form a small and lean face line, the hospital said. 

It also reduces the risk of nerve damage and helps patients recover from the surgical operation in a short period of time, said Kim Tae-gyu, the doctor who developed the method at Braun Plastic Surgery.

“The Siot osteotomy is an effective surgical method than the existing T-osteotomy because it does not cause any nerve damage,” Kim said.

The T-osteotomy had frequently been performed in Korea before Siot osteotomy. However, the T-osteotomy was not effective at all for long faces that also had long chins. Therefore, patients with long faces and long chins had to go through additional operations to reduce the length of the chin or take even more painful and risky bimaxillary operations.

However, the Siot osteotomy can make the front chin lean and shorten the length of the chin without follow-up surgery or bimaxillary operation, the hospital said.

The hospital has obtained a patent for the Siot osteotomy because it has proven to be effective and safe, it claimed. The surgical method has also been recently introduced on TV programs, it added.

“Not only Koreans but also foreigners are increasingly paying attention to overall plastic surgical techniques developed and operated by Korean hospitals,” Kim said

“However, it is important to find a proper and balanced facial shape, rather than being obsessed with the so-called V-line shape,” he said.

Facial contouring surgery is a very complex operation, and requires extra care to minimize nerve damage, the doctor warned.

“Patients need to look for a hospital that has experienced doctors particularly in facial contouring surgeries,” he added.