Before-before-before after-after-after hello~!
I had double-jaw surgery + 3 types of facial contouring (cheekbones, square jaw, chin) with Director Lee Seok-jae at Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery~ Genetically, I had malocclusion where my lower teeth protruded forward, so every single time I went to a dental clinic for an orthodontic consultation, I was told I needed surgical orthodonticsㅠ Honestly, from other people’s perspective, it wasn’t that severe unless they looked closely at my face, and if I kept a bit of tension in my lower jaw, it wasn’t to the point where my protruding chin was extremely obvious..?! But my square jaw was very developed, and when someone else took a photo of me without me realizing it, the protruding chin was definitely visible.. And more than anything, functionally, when I went “ee,” the middle area between my upper and lower teeth was floating open, so I couldn’t cut noodles with my front teeth or bite into food. Because of that, I didn’t chew food finely, so poor digestion and getting an upset stomach were completely routine.. But double-jaw surgery felt like such a major surgery to me that I had been thinking about it since I was 20, but because of the cost and fear, I couldn’t readily go through with it and just worried about it for a very long time. Then I looked around various orthodontic forums, came up from the provinces to Seoul, and had a consultation at Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. First, I really liked that there was one director and one surgery per day, and the director also had a lot of surgical experience, didn’t overtreat, and spoke realistically, so I trusted him and decided on Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery right away.
I started with pre-surgical orthodontics, and had surgery when 8 months of orthodontics had passed and I entered the 9th month.
[Day of surgery] On the morning of surgery, I went to the hospital alone with a nervous heart, and while preparing for surgery, I must have been so nervous that my heart rate measured high,, Still, the operating-room nurse took good care of me, and we walked into the operating room together. With the anesthesiologist saying they were starting anesthesia, I went into a deep sleep.. When I opened my eyes, the surgery was over and I was sitting on the bed..? I have absolutely no memory of whether I sat up myself or how they sat me up...? Because I had painkillers, I didn’t feel any particular pain, just simple sleepinessㅎ I had gone without a guardian too, but the nurse kept coming in frequently to check my condition, so I spent the day just spacing out.. Unlike how much I had worried before surgery, it was more uneventful than I expected.
[Day 1~Day 3] The day after surgery, they removed the urinary catheter and blood drains, and it only felt strange, it didn’t hurt, (as a scaredy-cat, it’s always routine to get scared before doing anything,,) They gave me New Care, so I drank it while wiping here and there with tissues. I could see my face getting ready to start swelling, so I think I spent the time focusing only on ice packs. During the 2-night, 3-day hospital stay, all the necessary items like a humidifier and neck pillow were provided, so there was almost nothing extra to bring except maybe a donut cushion..? They also changed the cold packs frequently,, Even at dawn, if I rang the bell, they took care of everything I neededㅠ Nurses who work so hard day and night,, thank you,,♡ It’s nice to have a guardian, but I did perfectly fine without oneㅋㅋ I think they only need to come when you’re dischargedㅎㅎ
[After discharge~Week 2] On days 4-5, the swelling peaked and my face was very puffy, so I was worried, but around about one week, the swelling slowly started going down~ The hardest parts for me were not being able to brush my teeth and having to gargle, nasal congestion, and, as someone with a big appetite, the daily routine of drinking New Careㅠ Still, being able to shower and walk made me feel a little more aliveㅎㅎ At week 1, I visited the hospital to remove the stitches at the sideburn area and also received a swelling laser treatment. Until my week-2 stitch-removal visit, I spent the time diligently walking and applying warm compresses.
[Week 2~Month 1] Before, the swelling was enough that even a mask couldn’t cover it all, but now the swelling is going down to the point where it isn’t noticeable if I wear a mask! After removing the stitches at week 2, I returned to work the next day, and aside from my pronunciation leaking a bit because I’m wearing a wafer, I wore a mask around, so no one knew I had surgery..ㅎㅎ (Of course, when I take it off, everyone says my image has changed.) I still can’t chew, so I’m only eating foods that I can mash with my tongue and palate, but compared with the past 2 weeks when I was only drinking liquids, I’m eating a variety of soft foods, so it’s manageable,, After removing the stitches, I’ve become someone who diligently does mouth exercises and only waits for chewing to become possible and the swelling to go downㅎㅅㅎ There’s still a lot of swelling left to go down, but time will be the medicine..?:)