Man, 24, undergoes dramatic jaw surgery after a decade of taunts

A 24-year-old man from Manchester has undergone a five-hour jaw realignment operation at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, after years of taunts about a jutting chin. Luke McLuckie, who began developing an underbite at 13, said the procedure finally gave him back his confidence and changed how others see him. Doctors corrected an underbite measured at more than 1.5 centimeters, which had long affected his self-image and social life.

Luke McLuckie recalled that a routine dental appointment in 2015 flagged the need for jaw realignment once his skull was fully grown, a process that would allow the surgery to go ahead only after he turned 18. While waiting for the operation, he said his mental health declined, and he was self-conscious about his side profile. He described avoiding photos at key moments such as college graduations and a cycling tour of Europe, and he said the taunting extended beyond friends to strangers on nights out. "I was very insecure about my side profile," he said. "When I laughed or smiled, it would be really obvious. In social settings I’d avoid talking to someone side-on, and when I went to university it held me back from embracing all the new things that were there." He described cruel comments by strangers as a particular blow, noting that the worst jibes often came from unfamiliar people. His underbite measured more than 1.5 centimeters, contributing to a sense of insecurity about his appearance.

In July, McLuckie finally underwent the corrective surgery at Queens Medical Centre. The five-hour operation involved opening his gums and shifting his top jaw forward by 11 centimeters while retracting his lower jaw by 4 millimeters. The adjustments required titanium plates and screws to secure the new alignment, and the recovery brought swelling and sharp nerve pain, described by him as feeling like an open wound. Doctors warned that the procedure would be significant and the recovery lengthy, a reality he experienced firsthand as he faced weeks on a liquid diet and a period of limited mobility.

Recovering from the surgery proved arduous. McLuckie spent six weeks on a liquid diet and was housebound for about a month as his bite settled. He recalled feeling as if he were reliving toddlerhood—drinking milkshakes through a Tommee Tippee cup and adjusting to the inability to chew or enjoy food normally. He also described a loss of sensation in his lower lip during the early weeks, which occasionally led to dribbling as he learned to manage his new bite. "You can’t feel your bottom lip for the first month or so, so there was a lot of dribbling," he said. The experience underscored the psychological dimension of the procedure, with pain and swelling compounded by the struggle to adapt to a new facial structure.

Over time, McLuckie began to regain his confidence. It took seven weeks before he ventured out again, and four months after the operation his appearance had changed so dramatically that friends barely recognised him at first. He described the moment he finally saw his new profile in a mirror and realized his bite line was nearly perfect, noting that his own reflection finally matched how he felt inside. That moment reinforced the importance of the procedure for him beyond physical appearance. He said it was a struggle to adjust to his changed face, with friends needing a few minutes to reintroduce themselves when they first saw him after the surgery.

Despite ongoing improvements, McLuckie will continue wearing braces for up to a year as part of the final alignment of his teeth. He emphasised that the journey was not only about facial appearance but also about breathing and sleeping, areas he said were affected by the misaligned jaw. He added that the mental and emotional impact of an underbite or misaligned jaw can be profound: a minority of the effects are physical, while the majority relate to self-perception and confidence. He now aims to raise awareness about the condition, encouraging empathy for those who struggle with eating, breathing, and self-image because of jaw alignment issues, and to remind the public that visible differences often mask more significant, underlying challenges.

"If you see someone on the street or someone you know and you're judging them because they don’t look quite right, the looks are just the tip of the iceberg," McLuckie said. "That person is suffering from not being able to eat or breathe properly, not sleeping well and not liking what they look like in the mirror either." He stressed the importance of seeking support, noting that early intervention and access to corrective surgery can dramatically improve quality of life for individuals living with severe jaw misalignment. The story underscores a broader health dimension of facial deformities—how they intersect with mental health, daily functioning, and social participation—and highlights the ongoing need for education and resources for patients seeking treatment.