A 24 year old girl from Dubai, a known case of unilateral cleft lip and palate reported to our hospital seeking for lip correction. Primary cleft lip repair was done elsewhere resulting in thinning of upper lip. Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji successfully corrected this defect using bullhorn lip lift technique.

There are different types of lip lift surgery. The most commonly used lip lifting technique is known as the ‘bullhorn lip lift’. Pre-operative markings on the skin ensure the lip lift is approximately symmetric. Advancement of the inferior edge of skin directly beneath the nasal base lifts the lip, producing more visible vermilion and about 3 mm of teeth show at rest. The position of the final incision is such that it is located within the shadow of the nose. Meticulous technique produces an almost invisible scar. The amount and width of skin excised is individualized depending on the desired aesthetic goals. Lip lifts using this technique provide an immediate, dramatic, and permanent result.

A 26 year old man reported to our hospital seeking to correct his long lower jaw. This gave him an aged appearance and he was not happy with his facial profile.
​
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji expertly planned to correct his lower jaw protrusion by using bilateral sagittal split osteotomy technique (Obwegeser sagittal Split osteotomy). Intraorally a cut was made bilaterally in the lower jaw bone in the ramus region, excess bone was removed and the segment was set back to its correct position and thus correct dental occlusion was achieved. Results are immediate and the patient was happy to have his lower jaw bone correction done without any scars on the face. His profile also improved dramatically giving him a renewed confidence.

A 26 year-old boy form West Bengal came to our hospital with a complaint of swelling with occasional pain in his upper jaw. A digital X-ray took revealed a large cystic lesion extending anterior teeth to premolar of the maxilla with complete erosion of the labial plate.
​
Histopathological examination of the specimen showed it to be a huge infected dental cyst due to continuous trauma from occlusion resulting from anterior deep bite. Maxillofacial surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji successfully removed the entire cystic lesion along with the lining in toto. Followed by defective region of the upper jaw was reconstructed using costochondral rib graft. Following surgery the wound healed well and the patient was happy to be cured of his ailment. After complete bone formation, fixed dental replacement of the missing teeth will be done using dental implants. 

A 16 year old boy from Nepal reported to our hospital with the complaint of cosmetic defect near the left eye, continuous tearing of eyes. His history revealed that he had sustained a blunt injury in the upper half of the face due to road traffic accident and he was primarily treated elsewhere 6 months back.
​
On clinical examination there was increased canthal distance in the left side from midline and obliteration of the canthal bay and caruncle. Lacrimal punctum did not dip into the lacrimal lake, thereby causing epiphora.  3DCT revealed an old medial wall fracture with minimal difference in skeletal intra orbital distance at the posterior poles of the globes. Hence the unilateral telecanthus was entirely soft tissue in origin and in this case, due to the faulty reattachment of the medial canthal ligament.

Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji successfully corrected this defect using modified miniplate technique for the reattachment of the medial canthal ligament. Results were immediate and patient feels very happy to have the entire correction of eye defect along with epiphora correction without any visible scars on the face.

​A 12 year old girl was brought to our hospital with a complaint of facial deformity. No history of trauma elicited by her parents. Extra oral examination revealed retruded mandible, deviation of chin towards left side.
3DCT revealed obliterated left joint space elongated coronoid process, reduced ramal height and prominent antegonial notch. The case was diagnosed as hypoplastic ramus on left side with developing secondary facial deformity. Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji successfully performed left condylar component reconstruction using 7th costochondral rib graft (CCG).
Postoperative mouth opening was adequate. Over 6 years follow up; CCG was favorable where it acts as a growth centre to induce bone growth and thus facial asymmetry was corrected without any visible scars on her face.

A 16 year old boy born with bilateral cleft lip and palate came to our hospital for expert cleft treatment. He was operated elsewhere for primary cleft lip and palate. He had a thin upper lip and broad flattened nose for which he sought treatment.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji performed the specialized Abbe flap technique to correct the upper lip. A flap of tissue was taken from the lower lip and used to reconstruct the upper lip with the base of the flap still attached to the lower lip. Once blood supply was established, the flap will be divided giving the upper lip a more natural, improved form.
Simultaneously, the broad nose was reshaped to make them more proportionate and balanced. Following surgery, the nose appeared sharp & defined with more proportionate profile.

A 16 year old girl reported to our hospital with the complaint of inability to open her right eyelid completely. On examination,  history of blepharoptosis of right eye since birth was seen with no other functional or ophthalmic complications.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji successfully corrected this defect without any visible scar on her face. Resection and advancement of levator aponeurosis was the technique used in correction of blepharoptosis. Patient feels very happy to have corrected eye lid function without any scar on the face. 

A 3 month old baby girl was born with unilateral incomplete cleft lip. Her parents brought to our hospital for surgical management.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji successfully performed the cleft lip repair using modified Millard’s technique. Following suture removal 7 days after surgery, the baby’s appearance was greatly enhanced. The baby’s parents were very happy to have the cleft lip defect corrected with very negligible scar.

A 24-year old female from Mumbai born with a deformed right ear, sought the expertise of Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji for reconstruction of her ear defect. Previously, in some other hospital elsewhere, multiple attempts to reconstruct the ear were done but she was not satisfied with the results. Hearing was normal.
Dr. Balaji employed the Limberg’s flap to successfully reconstruct the ear lobule. Followed which stage wise complete ear lobe reconstruction done using costochondral rib graft. Costal cartilage was harvested; external framework was carved and tunneled to reconstruct the external ear.
 After suction, the skin was seen getting adhered to the cartilage.  This was followed by the second-stage surgery to elevate the newly formed ear from the side of the head using split skin graft obtained from right thigh region. Thus, entire shape and size of the ear was reconstructed with enhanced appearance without much visible scars.

​A 6-month-old baby girl born with unilateral cleft lip and palate was brought to our hospital by her parents for specialized treatment of the cleft defect.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji successfully performed the primary cleft lip repair using modified Millard’s technique.  Right away after surgery the baby’s appearance was remarkable improved and she was able to feed well. Her parents were very happy to have the cleft lip treated with negligible scar formation. After few months cleft palate repair will be done.

​A 25-year-old woman reported to our hospital with a complaint of swelling with pain in her left side of lower jaw. A digital X-ray took revealed a large cystic lesion extending entire ramus and angle and part of the body of the mandible involving the molar teeth.
Histopathological examination of the specimen showed it to be a chronic infected dentigerous cyst. Maxillofacial surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji expertly removed the entire cystic lesion along with the lining with affected teeth in toto. Following surgery the wound healed well and fixed molar teeth given using dental implants in the newly formed bone with good retention, patient was happy to be cured of her ailment and to have fixed teeth.

​A 19-year-old boy came to our hospital seeking to correct his facial asymmetry that gave unpleasant appearance. The boy was very anxious & wanted a cosmetic correction to enhance his appearance without any scars.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji diagnosed that the asymmetrical face was due to unilateral masseter hypertrophy. Masseter muscle is mainly responsible for the movements of the lower jaw & plays an important role in facial aesthetics. When the muscle becomes enlarged or thickened, it gives the lower third of the face a wide, square-shaped appearance.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S. M. Balaji surgically reduced the bulk of the enlarged Masseter muscle from within the mouth itself so there were no scars. Along with the muscle, the buccal surface of the gonial angle of the mandible was also trimmed. Immediately after surgery the lower jaw appeared more proportionate and his appearance greatly improved. The boy and his family were very happy to have a more attractive, natural look.

A young man reported to our hospital seeking the expertise of Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. S.M. Balaji for the cosmetic correction for his nose defect. He had met with an accident and he had a defect in the left nostril (loss of tissue). It was decided to do a nose reconstruction using forehead flap. The advantages of a forehead flap is that the skin color closely matches that of the nose and the harvest site is very close to the surgery site.
Alar base reconstruction was done using forehead flap. Step one was done where the forehead pedicle flap was rotated and attached to the existing ala maintaining good blood supply and following 21 days, second step of flap division was done where exact shape and size of left ala was created without any visible scar and skin discoloration.