It has already been eight months since I underwent double-jaw surgery together with facial contouring surgery at Iyu Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, with Dr. Kim Jong-yoon. Haha!!! I will soon be able to write my one-year review too, haha. At first, the days of recovery after surgery felt incredibly long, but looking back now, time seems to have passed very quickly. Looking over the records I kept from before surgery until now, I can feel the changes more clearly, so I am going to organize everything through month eight in hopes that it helps people preparing for surgery!!
Since middle school, I had known that my jaw was asymmetrical and protruded forward. My underbite and facial asymmetry continued to bother me, but double-jaw surgery scared me, so I covered up with a mask for a long time. T_T At first, I tried to address it with orthodontic treatment alone, but it was difficult to improve the underlying jaw issue. I also disliked seeing myself unconsciously covering my jaw in every photo. T_T
Rather than continuing to hide, I wanted to face it properly, so I ultimately decided to have surgery! Since I thought double-jaw surgery must address both the jawbones and occlusion, I looked primarily into oral and maxillofacial surgery rather than plastic surgery from the beginning. I personally visited and consulted at around three to four places! What stood out about Iyu Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was that it was directly connected with dentistry. From the consultation stage, they took impressions and systematically explained my jaw condition based on my dental structure and occlusion!! Other hospitals also recommended surgery-first treatment, but immediate surgery was difficult in my situation at the time. Dr. Kim Jong-yoon explained that I should proceed with presurgical orthodontic treatment first!! I trusted what I felt during the consultation, and the treatment direction aligned well with what I had in mind, so I chose Iyu Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery right away!!
Skipping the very early postoperative stage, I will start from month two! Around then, I finished wearing the wafer and had the screws in my upper gums removed haha. When I began living without the wafer, my occlusion initially felt slightly unfamiliar, but I gradually adapted in daily life. Above all, I remember feeling much more comfortable because there were fewer things to bring whenever I went out haha.
From then on, people around me often said my face had become much smaller, and even people I met for the first time said I had a small face. Haha, it was almost the first time in my life I had heard that, so it felt awkward, lol, but it was so fascinating to gradually feel that my facial contour was changing after double-jaw surgery and contouring.
By month three, I could open my mouth to about three finger widths. Unless food was very hard or chewy, I could eat most things without difficulty, so mealtimes became much less uncomfortable! The biggest thing I noticed then was that sensation was gradually returning!! Areas with almost no sensation immediately after surgery began to have tingling sensations, and I could feel that they were slowly recovering. As the swelling continued to go down, I could see my facial line becoming more tapered than before, so I was pleased with the visible changes too haha.
By month four, after consistently practicing opening my mouth, I improved enough to fit about four fingers! As a result, I could eat somewhat large foods without cutting them up separately as before, which made ordinary meals much easier. I was also quietly pleased about hats. Haha. Before surgery, I thought my face shape did not suit hats, so I rarely wore them. As my face became smaller, I could try on all sorts of them...(a truly moving story T_T). Personally, I was also very pleased that my styling options expanded. Some residual swelling remained, but my face almost no longer looked awkwardly swollen, and from then on I met acquaintances comfortably and lived almost as usual!
Still, by around month five, I had recovered enough that there were almost no areas of swelling that concerned me haha. I was already sufficiently happy with how I looked then, but I remember looking forward to how naturally my facial line would settle as even the residual swelling gradually went down. Around that time, I happened to have a video shoot, and the change felt even more significant. Honestly, in the past I would have worried that my jaw looked protruded and found it difficult to step confidently in front of a camera. At that time, however, the burden I felt about my appearance had greatly decreased, and I could participate in the shoot happily and confidently haha. Needless to say, I loved the result too!! Haha. Eating also became much easier; I had recovered enough to bite into somewhat firm fruit, and I lived without major difficulty eating food!
Immediately after surgery, every day had felt so long, but once six months, half a year, had passed, it felt as though time had really flown by lol. As the residual swelling continued to decrease, my facial line gradually became more tapered, and from then on it began to feel natural, like simply my own face, rather than like a “surgical face.” My family and acquaintances also said they were more accustomed to my current face, so almost all awkwardness had disappeared haha ><. Comparing before-and-after photos of my double-jaw surgery, the change itself was quite large, but in person it did not seem excessively different. Instead, my overall impression looked naturally refined and softer, which I especially loved!!!
At month seven, the awkward feeling when smiling had nearly disappeared, so making expressions became much more natural!! As I continued postoperative orthodontic treatment, the midline that had been slightly misaligned after surgery was gradually being corrected, and I could feel my occlusion settling stably as well. I also looked forward to seeing how my mouth shape would change once orthodontic treatment was complete and the braces were removed haha.
The change I was most satisfied with then was probably my side profile, which had always been a major complex for me! Haha. In the past, I had almost no confidence in my side profile because of my underbite and kept worrying about it when taking photos. By month seven, I was so satisfied that I actually liked my side profile more than my front view. T_T I never imagined the day would come when I would like my own side profile before surgery, so it felt even more meaningful!! Now, at month eight, my overall facial line has settled very naturally, and I am living happily because it seems to be gradually shaping up in the direction I wanted haha.
People I meet for the first time now seem not to think at all that I had double-jaw surgery. I have even heard people say they envy me because they think I was born with a small face. 😂 I have never heard such comments in my life, so I feel a little guilty whenever I hear them, but... I am very happy because it seems the surgery does not look obvious and has settled naturally. Hehe. Especially when traveling, there are so many occasions to take photos! In the past, whenever someone photographed me, I constantly worried about how my jaw would look or what angle the picture would be taken from. Now, no matter who takes it, where, or from what angle, I do not worry nearly as much haha. Unconsciously covering my jaw every time I took a photo was one reason I decided to have surgery, and being able to look comfortably at myself in photos now is a truly major change for me. Having personally experienced the gradual changes through eight months of recovery, my current appearance now feels very familiar and natural haha!!!!! I am truly, truly, truly satisfied, and I thank Dr. Kim so much for giving me a new life with such a beautiful operation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!