A patient who visited On Clinic was experiencing severe difficulties due to a previous cheekbone surgery. As confirmed by 3D CT scans, the patient's cheekbone was fractured into multiple pieces with a large bone gap exceeding 10mm. When I personally analyzed the CT images, I immediately realized that reoperation on such severely damaged cheekbones would be extremely challenging. This was a highly complex case, significantly different from the condition of a typical cheekbone.
Traces of Past Surgery and Its Difficulty
The patient's cheekbone was significantly reduced in size, to about one-tenth of a normal cheekbone, and multiple areas were destroyed. Dr. Myungjun Oh explained the severity of the previous surgery through the CT images, stating, "The hospital that performed the previous surgery completely shattered the cheekbone. The expression might be strong, but it was fractured here and here." What was even more surprising was that this condition was the result of a surgery performed just 3-4 years ago, not 10 or 20 years prior.
Severity of Cheekbone Damage:
- Bone gap exceeding 10mm
- Cheekbone fractured into multiple pieces
- Size reduced to 1/10 of a normal cheekbone
- Area for fixing pins was weakened
In such a weakened and fractured state, there is insufficient space to insert fixing pins or screws, making the surgery itself extremely difficult. Dr. Myungjun Oh emphasized the technical challenges of such a high-difficulty surgery, saying, "If the cheekbone is fractured like this, it's very weak, which means there's no place to insert pins. There's no place to insert screws."
Dr. Myungjun Oh's Sense of Responsibility and Surgical Plan
This patient was in a situation where it would be difficult to attempt surgery anywhere other than with Dr. Myungjun Oh. Dr. Myungjun Oh sought to live up to the trust of the patient who visited On Clinic after seeing his SNS videos. He expressed his deep sense of responsibility towards the patient, saying, "This patient has no other option for surgery besides me. So, despite the difficulty, I am proceeding with the surgery out of a sense of responsibility as a doctor."
The goal of the surgery was not merely to reduce the mid-face externally, but to stably reconstruct the destroyed cheekbone and maintain its form. The key was to minimize the gap between the bones as much as possible, and even if they couldn't fully fuse, to fix them by overlapping to make them strong.
Successful Reconstruction and Patient Satisfaction
One week after the surgery, the patient reviewed the CT results with Dr. Myungjun Oh. Dr. Myungjun Oh showed the improved condition, asking, "Can you see how perfect the fractured bone and the bone gap, which was over 10mm, are now?" The patient expressed great satisfaction, exclaiming, "It's so perfect! It's so good!"
Dr. Myungjun Oh: "I told you before the surgery that some bone gap might remain. You can see there's none at all, right?"
The cheekbone, which was weakened and fractured by the previous surgery, was robustly reconstructed by overlapping and fixing the bones. Even Dr. Myungjun Oh expressed surprise at the successful outcome, saying, "I didn't even expect it to be this perfect." The patient conveyed her gratitude, saying, "I'm so happy that my previously weak bone has been stably improved." In this way, On Clinic provided new hope and satisfactory results to the patient through a highly challenging cheekbone revision surgery.
Dr. Myungjun Oh, On Clinic | Last Reviewed 2026-05-23