Severe left-right asymmetry after orthognathic surgery, I regret choosing [Clinic A]. (Added follow-up, after reconstructive surgery)

Hello. After my previous surgery at [Clinic A], several problems remained. Among them, the biggest issue was asymmetry, and it caused me a great deal of mental and physical distress. In the end, I underwent reconstructive surgery, and I added an update after 6 months of follow-up. I will keep coming back every 6 months to leave progress updates so they can be used as real review information. Thank you sincerely to everyone who left comforting comments.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Review overview ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■[1] Surgery hospital: [Clinic A] Dental Clinic[2] Satisfaction with surgery: ★★☆☆☆☆☆ (2.5/10)[3] Surgery date: early December 2024[4] Pre-op consultation content 1. Desired surgical direction - Worry about a broad, wide face - Worry about a large face 2. Facial features to avoid - Square jaw - Inverted-triangle face (narrow chin tip)[5] Procedure 1. Three types of facial contouring 2. Orthognathic surgery 3. Dieting at the same time (personal)[6] What I felt after surgery 1. The sense of loss when expectations and surgical results were different is beyond words. 2. I developed asymmetry that had not existed before and was under extreme stress. Every time I looked in the mirror, I could only sigh, and I felt like I was about to develop depression.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ CH1. Pre-op consultation ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■During the pre-op consultation, the director emphasized the positive points more than the areas I was worried about. The tone was kind, and they listened to what I said well, so I chose that hospital and had the surgery there.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ CH2. During surgery ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■After surgery, when I checked the CCTV footage, the director and the deputy director had split the operation between them. It was not the simple assistant-style support I had seen at a university hospital; the deputy director operated alone for a long time, then left, and the director entered late and continued the surgery. Watching that video made me feel betrayed. There had been no advance notice, and I had consulted with the director, so I naturally assumed the director would be the one in charge of the surgery.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ CH3. Complaints after surgery ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■My biggest concern after surgery was the asymmetry. I wanted to discuss the cause together as politely as possible, but the answers I received at each consultation were different. ● [2 to 3 weeks after surgery] (deputy director): They treated the asymmetry as if it were no big deal. They said that because swelling goes down unevenly on the left and right, it can look asymmetrical. ● [1 month after surgery] (deputy director): When they showed me the CT images, it looked asymmetrical on the CT as well. They rotated the angle this way and that, but said it only looked asymmetrical because of the viewing angle. I received a very brief explanation, under 5 minutes, of roughly how the surgery had been done. I asked whether I could get the CT images, but I was told they could not be taken out because of internal policy, or something like that. When they explained the images, it felt like they were not showing them at the correct angle. ● [KakaoTalk consultation]: I said I wanted to hear the explanation from the director after the surgery. After asking several times and being told no, I finally managed to meet the surgeon who had performed the operation. ● [3 months after surgery] (director): I had expected a detailed consultation, but they seemed busy, and the consultation was only about 10 minutes. I did not hear as much detail about the surgery as I did from the deputy director. I mentioned the areas I was dissatisfied with, but the conclusion was the same: the surgery went well, there had originally been asymmetry, and it would get better as the swelling went down. ● My own thoughts It felt almost like I was being gaslit... So I dug through every photo I had taken since school. I found photos from several years before surgery, when I was still thin, and thankfully my face was not obscured by fat in those photos. The asymmetry was not severe enough to cause stress, and there was almost none; even the corners of my mouth were not asymmetrical when I smiled. It felt like something was wrong, but they were not telling me. I was still dieting, and as the weight came off and the swelling went down, the asymmetry gradually became worse. ● [KakaoTalk consultation]: I decided I probably needed to see the director again, so I asked them to arrange another consultation. Along with the answer that it would improve with time, they set it for the earliest available appointment with the director, which was several weeks later. Compared with the pre-op consultation, it was much harder to get an appointment. ● [Consultation at another hospital]: Because the consultation date was several weeks away, I was in no psychological state to wait. So I started searching YouTube and Naver. In the end, the problem could not be solved at the hospital that operated on me, so I consulted another hospital and learned that the bones had been cut differently by more than 5 mm. I was also able to get the CT file easily. After that, I could not sleep at all and started having bad thoughts. Overwhelmed by the sense of loss, I stared into mirrors and even broke several of them.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ CH4. Post-op complaints / writing a review on this community ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■● [Writing a review on this community]: By personality, I am not very good at saying unpleasant things to other people. I write a lot of food reviews, but even for most restaurants that were not tasty, I tended to leave good ratings and reviews. But this surgical experience was not something I could simply let go. I was so mentally exhausted that I could not sleep and kept fidgeting anxiously, and in the end, around 3 a.m., I posted my first review on this community when I was 5 months post-op. ● [Rescheduling the consultation]: The hospital that had said it was fully booked and could only see me several weeks later suddenly said a slot had opened up and that I could have a consultation the next day. I wanted to see the director, so I booked the consultation. ● [Meeting the director]: Only after I had consulted another hospital and left a review did I hear that the two sides had been cut differently. At this point, I was able to have a detailed consultation, not just a 5- or 10-minute one. They suggested alternatives that were direct solutions rather than just waiting for swelling to go down. They explained both the method of cutting one side to match the other and reconstructive surgery. ● [Meeting the manager]: Unlike before, the hospital was busy, creating an atmosphere where it felt awkward to speak up, but they still consulted kindly with me. They listened carefully to my concerns about the asymmetry. Then they said that reconstructive surgery normally costs 10 million won, but they would do it for 5 million won, charging only the material cost. ● [Meeting the manager]: I realized that the previous consultation had been because of the review. In exchange, they asked me to take the review down. (Up to that point, I had been thinking that the fact they only gave me appointments, and that the director and manager only explained what they had found at another hospital after the review, meant it was because of the review, and that did not sit well with me...) When I said I would think about taking the review down, the manager smiled and mentioned legal action. (Inside, I was very upset, and I kept wondering whether I really should do this.) ● [Deciding after much thought] I have a strong T-type personality. I focused only on how to solve this problem rationally. I had no confidence that I could live with the asymmetry. In the end, I took the review down and decided to undergo reconstructive surgery later for 5 million won. I was not someone who expressed myself well, but regarding that surgery, I was in such a state that if it went wrong I might really have done something terrible. Before setting the surgery date, I kept worrying about these three things: 1) 5 million won is a huge amount for a salaried worker 2) As an office worker, the vacation period 3) Most importantly, trust in the doctor I finished thinking it through and tried to book surgery two months before Chuseok, but 1 to 2 weeks before Chuseok, every surgery slot was already full, so I could not make a reservation. While I kept worrying about my trust in the doctor, I ended up having reconstructive surgery at [Hospital B], which is known for doing it well, and paid 13 million won. In the end, I think it was good that I had the surgery at that hospital. A review about that hospital is off-topic here, so I will post it if I get the chance.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ CH5. In closing ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■When choosing a cosmetic surgery hospital, you will tend to hear only what you want to hear, so I recommend being cautious of people who only say good things and checking carefully before deciding. Also, because there is a lot of advertising in cosmetic surgery, consumers need to be careful. Honestly, I think a hospital that advertises openly is better. Be suspicious of hospitals that promote themselves in a sly way. Even chicken and snack companies face many legal sanctions for hidden advertising, so it seems that is not the case in cosmetic surgery. I did not get the results I wanted from this surgery. So I am leaving this post in the hope that others will not go through the same trial-and-error in the hospital-selection process. A [Clinic A] YouTube video came up saying that surgery can be done without asymmetry through a 3D examination and that it can be corrected, and after watching that video I got emotionally overwhelmed again, deleted my review, and wrote it again..■■■■■■■■■■■ CH6. Additional ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■And I have attached photos from before surgery below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1su7UGr_5jsQcbNSu8... If you are curious, please request viewer access and leave your Google ID in the comments with a ★comment★. And if you have any additional questions, please leave them in the ★comments★. I will come by and leave ★replies★ when I have time.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ CH7. 6 months after reconstructive surgery ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■<Recent thoughts> Recently, I keep thinking that I should have looked more carefully into the hospital before the very first surgery. I think about this a lot. After reconstructive surgery, the asymmetry has improved to some extent. <Experience of reconstructive surgery> I had reconstructive surgery on only one side of the square jaw at [Hospital B]. In the consultation process, they gave me enough time and listened to my concerns in relatively detailed fashion. The problems from the first hospital were...(1) A pulling sensation on the lower left side, such as when chewing something or talking, and an overall tight feeling in daily life.(2) Asymmetry from contouring surgery(3) Zygoma surgery They clearly said what could be done, said what could not be done, and helped the patient make the right choice. I also learned that the surgical method was different because this was my second experience. It definitely feels like university hospitals lack marketing elements. Compared with the facilities, it was not a system where a single doctor handled everything; a specialist provided support. It was not a format where one doctor operated, left, and then came back a few minutes later to take over. In that respect, I felt psychologically reassured. Although reconstructive surgery has its limits, the asymmetry has improved to some extent, so I no longer avoid mirrors by pretending not to look at them, and incidents like looking in the mirror and breaking it have decreased. <Remaining problem> It seems there are other people here too who still feel some pulling in the skin after hardware removal? I think I have that symptom too. I am still suffering from pain even though more than a year has passed because of contouring surgery and perhaps a suturing problem? When will I be able to forget and just live normally? Sigh.