I knew that my jaw projected a little more than average, so at first I visited an orthodontic clinic. Even at the orthodontic clinic, they said it was true that it projected more than the standard range, but that I could have surgery or choose not to. They said that if I chose surgery, the teeth that were lying down would be stood back up into normal occlusion before the surgery proceeded, and I decided to have the surgery! After a little over 2 years of orthodontic treatment, I had the surgery at Y Oral Surgery.
My face was usually closer to a flat face shape, and especially when I smiled, my underbite looked more pronounced, so from the side it looked kind of like a half-moon shape. Also, with prominent cheekbones and an underbite on top of that, when I tied my hair up people even said I looked like a woman dressed as a man, and I had a somewhat masculine image and a strong impression.
After I started orthodontic treatment, I looked up what kind of surgery it was on YouTube and came across the channel "Lee Seok-jae's Jaw Surgery Life" for the first time, and I watched every video that was uploaded! Near the end of orthodontic treatment, I wanted even more to have surgery at the hospital run by Dr. Lee Seok-jae, so I went in for a consultation. During the consultation they told me to ask anything I was curious about, but I had already watched all the YouTube videos, so I did not really have any questions. I remember that my mom asked a few questions.
After the surgery, I sent photos to my friends, and I think the thing I heard most often was that I looked younger! Around one month later, I met a friend and they said my lower jaw was definitely shorter and my lower face had become shorter!! I also checked the X-ray and my jaw length really had become shorter.
I also had contouring of all 3 areas, and based on what I felt, I had both the 45-degree cheekbones and the side cheekbones developed before surgery, but after surgery I felt the 45-degree cheekbones had reduced more than the side cheekbones. The square jaw just felt naturally refined, and my chin line, which had originally been straight, definitely felt more refined too! Maybe because they did not overdo everything and left the bones looking natural, another friend said they expected a huge change but that my image had not changed!! I am very satisfied that I kept my image while removing the underbite that was my complex! For anyone thinking about surgery, instead of expecting, "I will become incredibly pretty after surgery," I think it is better to think of it as resolving your own complex and getting a little extra aesthetic improvement from that!!
On the day of surgery, I honestly do not think I had time to look at anything. My nose was so blocked that all I could do was breathe? That is the only thing I remember I was also so bored that I tried to watch something on my tablet, but it would not go into my head, and all I could do was turn on music and sit there with my eyes open! I was so exhausted on the first day and could not sleep, so I just lay there and ended up staying up all night In the early morning, the nurse said while giving me medicine that I might feel nauseous, and I really did feel my stomach turning and kept gagging with my tongue.. (There was nothing to come out since I had not eaten anything) And because it hurt so much on the first day, I ended up acting spoiled with the nurses in the early morning,, sorry,,
I still feel this way, but after surgery I think discomfort is bigger than pain. If pain is 2, discomfort is about 8; discomfort was greater than pain! The hardest thing for me was that my hip bone and tailbone hurt the most! After surgery they tell you not to bend over, and since you have to sleep sitting up, you have no choice but to stay tilted the whole time, but even with a donut cushion it hurt so much No matter what I did, it hurt terribly, so everyone should really buy a high-quality cushion..
Also, after discharge I think I was the most swollen on days 4 and 5. But swelling is something that only time can solve no matter what you do, so I took New Bene and Danggui Sosan! At 2 weeks I went back to the hospital to have the cheekbone stitches removed, and removing the cheekbone stitches did not hurt at all haha Also, if possible, I want to say to rest fully until week 3! I had very severe anemia-like symptoms until week 2, so I thought I would be fine after 2 weeks, but that was not the case.
And because I kept lying down, all the muscles in my body disappeared, so even showering was hard for me.. I did not know I would have to sit a bit while showering, then rest, then shower again like that.. And after showering, I also had to rest a bit.. During weeks 1 to 3, there will probably be many days when you suddenly feel short of breath, and I just sat right where I was, caught my breath, and then moved again. It varies from person to person, but for me things became manageable starting in week 3.
It has been a little over a month now, and I can meet friends and chat, but my facial expressions are still a bit awkward! I guess this will also get better with time~ I hope month 2 and month 3 come quickly!! Oh, and as for sensation after surgery, I still had sensation the day after the operation. But maybe I should say I did not know what I was feeling? What I mean is, I knew when something pressed on it with my hand and I knew when water flowed under my chin, but I could not tell whether my skin was dry or oily. That might be the easiest way to put it!