A woman bullied for looking like a “squirrel” underwent $200,000 surgery to replace her jaw with stomach fat in her face – now says she feels “beautiful”.
Izzy Sehon / SWNS
Izzy Sehon, 22, was two years old when her mother, Cherise Gerrard, 60, noticed her jaw wasn’t very pronounced and looked “different”.
At eight years old the issues progressed, she was suffering from significant jaw and joint pain and struggled with eating, breathing, and sleeping.
Izzy said:
"I haven't been able to crunch or bite down with my top teeth since I was aged 10. I haven't been able to bite an apple since I was eight. I struggled to crunch and chew a chocolate bar."
Izzy Sehon / SWNS
Izzy added:
"I didn't understand why people didn't want to be my friend or guys wouldn't want to date me. They would compare my side profile to a squirrel and call me 'no chin'. My family always told me I was beautiful."
She went to countless orthodontists and has worn braces “about six times” in her life.
In June 2020, a doctor finally realized she had idiopathic condylar resorption (ICR) – a rare condition that causes the bones in your jaw to break down.
Izzy was told her face looked like "someone who had got blown up in war" as her TMG joint - the two joints which connect your lower jaw to your skull - was "non-existent".
Izzy Sehon / SWNS
She underwent bilateral total jaw joint replacement surgery in February 2023 - which involved cutting her jaw in four places, removing her original jaw, and replacing it with custom-made prosthetics.
During the 12-and-a-half-hour operation, Izzy also had fat grafts from her stomach put into her face to cushion her new TMG joint. She funded the $200,000 (£160k) surgery through her insurance.
Izzy is now "happy" about how her new face is beginning to look and is dreaming about being able to bite into a caramel apple for the first time in 14 years.
Izzy Sehon / SWNS
She said:
"I was terrified to look at myself at first. I didn’t look for five days and made my dad, John Sehon, put sheets and towels over the mirrors in the hospital.”
Izzy spent five days in the hospital after having an allergic reaction to her medication before she was able to head home.
She wasn’t able to speak for seven days or open her mouth very much but has been doing jaw exercises every day.
She said:
“I couldn’t speak at all. I was non-verbal for seven days. I then started mumbling. My voice changed a lot – it’s more high-pitched.”
Izzy Sehon / SWNS
“I started breaking down when I first saw myself. I thought ‘that wasn’t me’. Now I’m feeling happy with how it’s starting to look. It’s life changing.”
“A lot of guys have come in my DMs post-surgery. And people now saying we should go out. But where were you before? 'I know who my friends are.'