Before <before surgery> Before <before surgery><day of discharge><day 3 after surgery><2 weeks after surgery><1 month after surgery><1 month after surgery><things to prepare>- Day of surgery
My surgery finished at 9 a.m., and when I woke up it was past 3 p.m. After general anesthesia, I was helped over to the bed, then kept breathing with an oxygen mask on. (They tell you to keep breathing because you need to wake up from anesthesia, and if you just breathe out deeply like sighing, it feels much easier!) Then a few minutes later, I moved to the recovery room with the IV still connected to the pole. I was so sleepy that I asked when I could sleep, and they said I could sleep right away, so I deep-slept. Four hours later they brought me water and New Care, so all day I just drank water, slept, and repeated. They came by from time to time to empty the drains, and around nighttime they came to put anti-inflammatory painkillers through the IV. Oh, after surgery I was cold and my body shook a lotㅜ I was seriously trembling, so the nurse asked if I was very cold and raised the temperature of the electric heating pad for me. When I felt slightly nauseous because of the general anesthesia, I just lay in bed, inhaled through my nose, and breathed out “hoo” through my mouth repeatedly - this worked best for me.
- Days 1-3
At the hospital, I had a CT scan, they washed my hair, and then I was discharged. After discharge, I could feel the swelling slowly coming up, and when I wore the compression band, my face visibly became like a full moon,, My bones did not hurt or anything, but on day 1, the thigh where I had liposuction hurt so much that sitting down or standing up was really painfulㅜ At this point, rather than thinking I needed to reduce swelling, I worked hard with cold compresses just to make it swell less, but it did not help,, Still, everyone, do your cold compresses diligently! On days 2-3, my mouth and face were extremely swollen, so it was hard to talk, and the inside of my mouth hurt so much that it was just painfulㅠㅜ I also had a lot of dry coughing, so I woke up while sleeping because of coughing, and I had so much phlegm that I drank almost four 500 ml bottles of water a day. Because I had so much coughing and phlegm, I asked the hospital and took additional medicine from the pharmacy, and they said I could take one more painkiller if it hurt too much, so I bought Tylenol and took it together with my morning and evening medicine! (But just because I did it does not mean everyone can, so make sure to ask the hospital before taking it!!) For sleep, I stacked 3 pillows and found a comfortable position, but because it was uncomfortable, even if I slept deeply, I woke up within 3 hours ㅠ As time passes, the swelling goes down and your body gets more comfortable, your sleep time also increases, so hang in there a little more!
- Days 4-6
For me, from days 3-4 when I could take off the compression band, the lip swelling went down sharply and the pain inside my mouth also decreased a lot! From day 3, I walked for under 2 hours in the afternoon and evening, drank water, sat while doing warm compresses, and if I got bored, I did compresses again, repeating endlessly. I focused on the side with more swelling, and I was so happy because I could see it going down quickly ㅠㅠ At this stage, you do not really need to do much else; just walk, do compresses often, take your medicine well, and apply ointment well to the incision areas!
- Day 7
Finally, the day I went to the hospital to remove the stitches at the sideburns and thigh. I arrived at the hospital at my appointment time and had the stitches removed, and for me the sideburn area stung so much,, While removing them, I went “Ah, it stings,,” but they said “It stings a little~” and kept removing them, so I just cried inside and endured it. I barely felt anything in my thigh, and they said I could now shower and did not need to apply ointment anymore! After waiting, the director checked the stitches inside my mouth and the cleanliness, and praised me saying I had managed it well and it was clean, so I felt very proud ㅋㅋㅋ They showed me the before-and-after CT scans and explained how the surgery was done, then asked if I had any questions, so I quickly asked if I could drink coffee, and they said it was fine as long as I rinsed my mouth well. After the director’s time ended, the hospital took photos, I received aftercare, and they said I should come back at the 2-week mark.
- Days 8-13
At this time, I still had plenty of swelling like I was holding food in my cheeks like a hamster, and some bluish bruising remained on my face ㅠ The stitches inside my mouth pulled a lot and hurt, so I could not laugh widely, and when something was too funny and I tried to laugh, the upper stitches pulled so much and hurt so badly that I held them with my hand while laughing ㅋㅋㅋ ㅜ I could not press my lips together either, so after applying lipstick or tint, I spread it with my finger. I did not wear makeup, but the cheekbone and jaw areas still hurt a little when touched, so if you do it, gently patting seems like it would be okay? Also, for brushing my teeth, I used a baby toothbrush with toothpaste, but because my mouth did not open wide, it felt like I was just forcing it in, and because of the stitches I did it gently but thoroughly. I did use a tongue cleaner, but since my mouth did not open wide, I just did it by feel, and it did not feel refreshing,, Maybe my skill was lacking,, They said by the 2-week mark about 2 fingers should fit, but I still felt like 1 finger fit with just a little extra space? I could not really keep the wearing time for the compression band, so when sleeping I wore it loosely, and if it became uncomfortable while sleeping, I took it off briefly. For meals, I mostly ate soft foods, and toward the end I felt like I was going crazy, so I ate fried rice or risotto by not chewing and just swallowing ㅠㅠ ㅋㅋㅋ I could not do compresses often either, but when I did, I focused on the side with more swelling, and I did compresses while hoping the large remaining swelling in my chin would go away after the intraoral stitches were removed.
- Day 14 (removal of intraoral stitches)
I saw the director and had the intraoral stitches removed. For me, rather than cutting the stitches, it hurt more when they pressed around with a cotton swab to find the stitches,, My body automatically tensed up, so I wondered if I would end up with muscle soreness ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅠㅠㅠ After all the stitches were removed, they told me to go to the bathroom and rinse my mouth with cold water, so I did, and there was less blood than I expected. I was almost at the 2-week mark, but the intraoral incision areas were throbbing, so I wondered if I had managed them wrong and asked, and they said it was normal! If anyone is worried like I was, I think you do not need to worry. Also, because it had not healed completely yet, they told me to be careful with eating for about 2-3 days like before. I had been planning to destroy some kimchi fried rice, so I hesitated a little,, (but I just ate it anyway ㅎ)
- 1 month
Now about two fingers fit, and sensation in my lips has all returned. My cheekbones feel very slightly numb/tingly? When I pat on lotion and things like that, it hurts a bit, so I am patting very, very gently! For the front chin sensation, an area a little bigger than a 500-won coin has no sensation, but it has come back a lot compared with before, so I am not worried. Sensation elsewhere is all normal! The intraoral incision area is protruding a little like keloid-prone skin, but I think it will get better with time, so it does not really bother me. I brush well with a regular-sized toothbrush and am also using a tongue cleaner very well ㅋㅋㅋ I slept sitting up until the 1-month mark, but when I asked the director at this visit, they said I no longer needed to go that far, so now I sleep lying down! They said one more finger would fit each month, and I asked about hats because of my forehead fat grafting, and they told me to be careful until month 3 and, if I do wear one, to wear something loose, so if I need to wear one, I am planning to wear a bucket hat ㅎㅎ For food, except rice cakes, hard foods, tough foods, etc., I am eating meat and regular meals, but with meat I still chew roughly and swallow. There is still some swelling around the cheekbones and jawㅠ They said it takes a long time to go down, so I am taking it lightly! Still, if I do not tell people who do not know I had facial contouring, it looks natural enough that they would not know, so I am very satisfied!!
I rented a room in Seoul for a week, so I have a lot of supplies, but people living at home can just use it as a reference to see if there is anything they need! I was worried a regular mask would not fit because of swelling, so I bought an extra-large black mask from Coupang, and it fit perfectly! Make sure to bring lip balm, and if you go to a pharmacy and ask for a bruise cream that can be used on the face, they should give you one.
I received a discount on the condition that I leave a review, so please get a consultation for the exact amount, and I have to go leave a review on the app tomorrow,,
Oh, for aftercare, I received it 3 times total: week 1, week 2, and month 1, and I had CT scans 2 times total: on the day of discharge and at month 1.
For week 1 and 2 aftercare, I received exfoliation, high-frequency treatment, and regenerative laser, and at month 1, I received only high-frequency treatment and regenerative laser without exfoliation.
I am worried people might suspect me of being a broker because I only praised it, but I am writing this because I want to help everyone who is thinking about it or curious about how effective facial contouring can be.
I struggled so much too, so I really wanted to help with how to struggle lessㅠ
I hope this helps everyone who will have facial contouring in the future or is considering it, and if you have questions, leave a comment and I will answer everything!!
Then have a good night, bye ~~~!
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