As a child, I had malocclusion and went to orthodontic clinics for consultations several times, but I was told there were limits to what orthodontic treatment could do. At the time I was still very young, and neither my parents nor I were considering surgery at all, so we thought we would try treating it with orthodontics.
But as I entered middle and high school, my long chin and underbite started to bother me more and more. My self-esteem about my appearance kept dropping, and I developed a complex. I became afraid of someone seeing my side profile, and even taking photos made me scared, which caused me a lot of stress.
After becoming an adult and enlisting in the military, I always carried the wish that after discharge I would get rid of this complex and live a normal social life like everyone else. While looking more and more into double-jaw surgery, I started to think seriously about it, and I also talked a lot with my parents. Since they knew how much stress I was under, they did not oppose it and supported me.
So in the end I decided to have surgery after discharge, and while I was in the military I looked into a lot of double-jaw surgery hospitals. Right after discharge I went to consultations at three places. I did not even look into plastic surgery clinics from the start; I only looked into oral and maxillofacial surgery clinics.
The reason I chose Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was that the other hospitals only told me the good parts and did not really talk about the bad parts, such as side effects. But Director Lee Seok-jae at Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery explained everything honestly, one by one, including both the good and bad parts, so I felt I could trust him. He also told me that because my bone was thin, it would probably be better to operate with IVRO. No other hospital had told me that, and this was the first place where I learned about IVRO, so I really trusted them.
I also heard that Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery lets you watch the surgery live on CCTV, and that they only perform one surgery per day. My parents liked that very much, and it was also very reassuring that there were separate anesthesiology and orthodontics doctors. Above all, I really liked Director Lee Seok-jae's experience and surgical philosophy, and the consultation manager was also very kind and explained everything from A to Z, which I appreciated. So in the end I decided to have the surgery at Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
When I was consulting, I was not thinking, "I am going to become incredibly good-looking after double-jaw surgery." I came with the mindset that I wanted to get rid of my long chin and underbite. During the consultation, Director Lee also explained that double-jaw surgery is not something that simply makes you look like a celebrity; it is surgery to correct malocclusion, and he analyzed it precisely and explained how the procedure would be carried out. That let me trust Director Lee and prepare for surgery with peace of mind.
<Recovery process> (Surgery day, day 1) I fasted for 12 hours before surgery, arrived at the hospital at 9:30, unpacked in the recovery room, changed into a hospital gown, heard the final pre-surgery plan from the doctor, and then lay down on the operating table. Until then I had not been nervous at all, but once I lay down on the operating table I was really shaking. T_T
Then I fell asleep without even realizing how I drifted off, and when I opened my eyes I was in the recovery room. I had been worried because other people said they felt really awful after surgery, but I felt better than I expected. As soon as I opened my eyes, my parents asked if I was okay. Since I could not speak, I nodded and asked for my phone.
I immediately took a photo of myself after the surgery, and the way I looked was so funny. haha I really felt well enough to take photos. Because I had to get the anesthetic gas out for 4 hours, I was told not to sleep, so I spent the time quietly listening to music on my phone and just spacing out.
I thought I was doing better than expected, so even though my parents could have stayed until 7, I told them to go home before quitting time. They left at 4, and I stayed alone. But then my nose gradually became more blocked, and it became hard to breathe. From this point on, the real hell began.. T_T
My mouth was fixed shut, so breathing through my mouth was also very difficult. Not being able to breathe made me feel so trapped and scared. I even thought maybe I would die if I fell asleep like this.
Still, the pain was not that severe because the pain relief drip was running continuously, and it mostly felt like a slight throbbing in my jaw. At night it was really hard, so I called the night nurse often. Looking back, I called very frequently even in the early morning, but they always took good care of me, so I felt sorry and grateful.. I slept for about 2 hours. Thanks to the nurse, I made it through day 1 safely.
(Day 2) On the morning of day 2, the nurse removed my catheter and I received swelling laser treatment. When the catheter was removed, it did not hurt, but it felt strangely uncomfortable. To be clear, it definitely did not hurt.
Then I saw the doctor and had the drainage tube removed too. That also did not hurt; it just felt refreshing and strange.
I was now able to walk a little, so they told me to take walks inside the hospital. Since sitting still was even harder for me, I walked around and moved as much as I could. I could breathe better than the day before, so I felt much better and more comfortable. I slept for 5 hours. After hearing the discharge instructions from the nurse, day 2 passed safely too.
(Day 3, discharge day) In the morning I received swelling laser treatment and prepared for discharge while waiting for my parents to arrive. I was happy just thinking I was finally going home, and the doctor came by before discharge and said I would keep getting better, which made me really happy.
My parents arrived, I got my prescriptions, and then we headed home in their car. Once I got home, I felt much calmer and more comfortable mentally. From then on I just kept repeating: drinking New Care, taking medicine, gargling, and resting.
The medicine was in powder form, and because it was very bitter, I drank it with an ion drink, which made it somewhat tolerable.
(Day 4) This was when my swelling was at its worst. My face was completely like a balloon, and I was so shocked when I looked in the mirror. Breathing was still difficult, so I could not do anything and just watched YouTube. Nights were especially hard, and I could not sleep well.
Then another day passed as I repeated: drinking New Care, taking medicine, and gargling.
(Week 1) From this point on, the swelling really went down a lot. My nose also gradually opened up, and once I could breathe through my nose, life became bearable. Nights were still a little hard, so before sleeping I sprayed Otrivin once and went to bed.
I also went back to the hospital in week 1 and received swelling laser treatment and oral disinfection, and I was surprised because I had not expected the disinfection to hurt, but it hurt more than I thought. Still, it was not extremely painful and it ended quickly.
They also showed me my bone photos before surgery and the photos after surgery, and they were so different that I could not speak because my jaw was fixed, but inside I was like, wow!!!! I was amazed lol. I had less swelling than expected, and the nurse also said I really had very little swelling.
I got tired of only drinking New Care, so I drank every kind of ion drink and looked for any liquid I could find and drank it. Eating only liquids left me with no energy and made me feel tired.
(Week 2) By then my nose was completely open, and I could also sleep lying down to some extent and sleep through the night. But because my mouth was still fixed shut, I was still only eating liquids, and I was so hungry that it was hard. In week 1, I was too uncomfortable to really notice hunger, but as my body became more comfortable, hunger started to hit me, and that made things hard.
Whenever eating videos came up on Instagram or YouTube, I would watch them without even meaning to, and then I would start feeling sad and depressed. Do not watch mukbang videos.. They are really painful and heartbreaking..
Finally, on the hospital visit in week 2, the jaw fixation was removed, the stitches were taken out, and I was able to put the wafer in and take it out by myself.
I had seen many reviews saying stitch removal hurt, so I was a little nervous, but except for the middle part, it was manageable. Still, it did hurt.. enough to make me tear up a little? But I was so happy just thinking that I could finally eat, even though I still could not chew once the jaw fixation was removed. It felt like I had the whole world.
From that point on I ate anything that could be crushed and swallowed without chewing, such as porridge, steamed egg, and cake. And because the jaw fixation had kept me from brushing properly, I felt so frustrated, but now I could brush my teeth, which made me very happy. Brushing after meals and putting in the wafer and elastic bands became my daily routine.
(Week 3) My facial swelling went down a lot, and I no longer felt the uncomfortable parts. As my mouth opened up, I ate a lot, and my energy gradually recovered. I had lost 5 kg after surgery, but I started gaining it back.
I also now slept more than 7 hours straight, and each day went by smoothly.
(Week 4) As the days kept going well, I went back to the hospital in week 4, had the wafer removed, and started orthodontic treatment. I had surgery first, so I proceeded with post-op orthodontics.
Once the wafer was removed, it felt so comfortable and freeing. Being able to speak again made me so happy. They also showed me a comparison of my before and after surgery photos, and I was so happy because I had improved so much.
From that point on, they said I could chew a little bit, so I asked the doctor what foods I could eat. The doctor smiled and explained which foods were okay and which foods were not. Then they attached the orthodontic appliance, but maybe because I had not been diligent about doing my mouth-opening exercises.. my mouth would not open very wide, and I got scolded.. Please do your mouth-opening exercises diligently.... If you do not, you will get scolded like me... T_T
The nurse said that from now on I just needed to receive orthodontic treatment diligently and keep working hard on mouth exercises, and that made me feel more at ease.
It has only been one month, but I am so satisfied, and my parents are so happy too, so I am really happy!!!!! Every time I look in the mirror, I keep thinking, "Is this really my face??" and I feel so good!! Since the swelling has not completely gone yet, I want to see how I will look once it is all gone. haha