One Month After Double Jaw Surgery for Class III Malocclusion

I had a Class III malocclusion with my jaw gradually jutting forward since high school. When taking photos or even in daily life, the friends around me used to tease me as a joke, so it was a huge complex for me. One day, while casually watching YouTube as usual, I came across the YouTube channel of Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and first learned about something called “double jaw surgery”! When I first went for a consultation, the manager who helped with the consultation was so, so, so, so kind that I even wondered if I should do it there. But just in case, I also went to another hospital for a consultation, and no no~ I didn’t get the same kind feeling as with the Y manager, so I left in the middle of the consultation. I went back to Y and booked double jaw + square jaw + chin contouring, and had the surgery. Of course, one reason was how kind the manager was, but the reasons I chose Y were: 1. The director only performs one surgery per day, 2. The guardian can watch CCTV during the surgery, 3. The director’s pursuit of natural beauty (this part was really big for me; other hospitals just keep saying cut here and cut there, like they are cutting hair with clippers, whereas Director Lee Seok-jae pursues natural beauty, so I decided there). Of course there were more reasons, but those three felt the biggest to me! (Day of surgery) I went to the hospital by 9 o’clock, changed clothes, lay on the operating table, drifted off for a little while, and when I opened my eyes, the surgery was over? I still remember it vividly, and the nurses at the hospital really took great care of me. I’m not sure if I’ll get another chance to meet them, but if I do, I definitely want to say thank you. Honestly, I think the discomfort was greater than the pain. Since I had a urinary bag on, on the first day I just sat still and stared blankly. (Day 2) On the second day, after they removed the urinary bag and the nasal hanger that had been placed in my nose, there was no pain and no discomfort. The only discomfort was that I was extremely hungry. I really regretted not eating much before the surgery. (Week 1) When I came home on the third day, the swelling was at its peak. When I looked in the mirror, I looked so swollen I wondered if I was even human, like a steamed bun man. But expecting improvement, I gargled as instructed by the hospital and drank a ton of protein milk. (Week 2) From the second week onward, the swelling gradually went down, and I could live daily life without much trouble, to the point that I wondered if I had even had double jaw surgery at all, except for eating. My cheeks seemed to have slimmed down, but my lips were still very swollen, so my lips felt unnatural??? While applying compresses and working from home, time passed really quickly. On day 14, after going to the hospital and getting the stitches removed, I felt much freer. (Week 3) I remember it vividly. My lips were originally unnatural, but around day 20 I could move them side to side and move them freely again like before surgery. By week 3, the hardest time during the surgery journey seemed to have been from the day of surgery to week 1. The only inconvenience left was that I still had no sensation at the tip of my chin, and it felt itchy and tingly. Also, I still couldn’t open my mouth as wide as before surgery, only enough to barely fit two fingers, and that was my only real inconvenience! (Week 4) Week 4 was not very different from week 3, so to briefly mention the routine I followed until week 4 after surgery: now that I think about it, I’m not sure whether pumpkin juice is really good for reducing swelling, as people say online. Honestly, I don’t know. From the day I came home after discharge, I took a 15-minute walk every morning and a 30-minute walk every evening after dinner. And I’m not sure whether this method is good, but I heard that proper lymph care is needed to reduce swelling quickly. So I learned how to use a gua sha tool on my own from YouTube and did a gentle gua sha every day, not with three passes but softly. I also drank a lot of water, definitely more than 1 liter a day, and I bought all the fruits I saw at the market, like strawberries and bananas, and blended and drank them if they were fruits I could put in a mixer. I don’t know whether my swelling went down faster than other people’s, but for me it felt like my swelling went down quickly on my own? Now it is almost one month, and I don’t know how I will look after this, but from how I have changed so far, I really do not regret having double jaw surgery at Y, to the point that I feel I made the right choice! I’m about to start orthodontic treatment soon, and if I look different again after that, I’ll leave another review later!