A review of double-jaw surgery now that life has become much more manageable at one month post-op.
I'm worried it might look like hospital promotion, so I won't talk much about the hospital! But even if it isn't this place, I recommend having it done at an oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic or a university hospital... I don't think this is a surgery to get at a plastic surgery clinic. If possible, I hope you do it at a private clinic that has a strong connection with an orthodontics department.
1. Right before and right after surgery
This is probably the case for most people, but mine wasn't a surgery-first case; I had orthodontic treatment for 6 months and then proceeded with surgery. If you're planning to have surgery, start with at least 6 months set aside for pre-surgical orthodontics. Since it was general anesthesia, just in case, I stopped drinking and smoking for about a week and managed my condition! I also gained a bit of weight lololol
Right after surgery, the aftereffects of general anesthesia were really severe... I was vomiting blood all night and ended up exhausted... Painkillers, a PCA pain pump, and stomach sedatives did not work at all. I think it was worse because my body is weak and I'm underweight. It wasn't a problem with the surgery itselfㅠㅠ Everyone, manage your condition well before going into surgery.
2. Pain
As I wrote above, on the day of surgery, there was no pain except for suffering from the side effects of general anesthesia. For about a week, at night I felt muscle soreness in my face + tingling/numbness inside my mouth, so I slept lightly. Since the bones had been moved, I think the skin tissue moved accordingly and caused muscle soreness in my face. It felt like the growing pains I used to feel in my knees when I was young, but in my face? For about a week, if I took the muscle relaxant the hospital gave me and Tylenol before sleeping, it was bearable.
3. Breathing
Everyone said it was hard, but maybe because I don't usually swell much, it was more bearable than I expected. I prepared a portable humidifier and Otrivin, which are said to be essentials for double-jaw surgery patients, but because it was summer and humid, I didn't need the humidifier (I actually think summer is better for double-jaw surgery), and I only used Otrivin for 3-4 days. Of course, on the day of surgery I breathed mainly through my mouth rather than my nose.
4. Swelling
First of all, until day ten, you'll swell so much that you'll think, can it really swell this much? Literally, I swelled like a hippo from below the forehead down... my nose was completely swollen too lololol. But the hospital told me I'm someone with very little swelling. Everyone, be prepared to swell. From week 2 to week 3, it started going down quickly, and now I just look like an ordinary person with chubby cheeks.
5. Overall review
It was more doable than I expected. I'm quite easily scared, so I cried while lying on the operating table (thinking back, that's absurd), and I had several nightmares before surgery about the surgery going wrong, but the time I spent worrying like that feels like a waste. The day of surgery was really hard, but that was because of the side effects of general anesthesia, not because the surgery itself was hard, and it was more bearable than expected. After I was discharged on day three, I went for walks and shopping and got along pretty well. If you just get through the day of surgery, it's really okay!
If you're a college student, it's totally possible during vacation, and if you're an office worker, assuming your health is okay, I think you can return to daily life to some extent after resting for about 2 weeks.
6. Supplies
Neck pillow (usually provided by the hospital), mirror, tissues, portable humidifier, Otrivin, wet wipes, donut cushion, Daiso ketchup bottle (for eating), paper cups, about that much? People said they used a lot of tissues and wet wipes, but I didn't use as many as I expected. I also used the ketchup bottle for 3-4 days and then just drank from paper cups.
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Anyway, thank you for reading this long post, and I hope it helps even a little in deciding on double-jaw surgery! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll try to reply quickly.