Importance of chin evaluation and treatment to optimizing neck rejuvenation surgery.

The chin is the keystone linking the aesthetics of the face and neck but is often neglected in the analysis. Procedures related to the chin play an important role in defining neck anatomy. Alloplastic implants can provide the illusion of a longer jaw line in a patient with retrogenia. Even greater anatomic changes to the neck result when a sliding genioplasty is performed. This effect is primarily due to the digastric attachments from the mentum and mastoid. Advancing the mentum may have a more direct effect of elevating the position of the hyoid, which sharpens the angle between the jaw and neck. Finally, the diagnosis of a witch's chin is also discussed for the patients who present for aging neck surgery.