I had a lot of concerns because of my very protruding cheekbones and asymmetry, and even now that I’m in my 40s, I couldn’t just live with it As I started exercising a lot, when I wore hats, my cheekbones stood out even more, and as my skin elasticity decreased, the cheekbones and angular face shape didn’t become something I could give up on; they became even more noticeable So I decided to get three types of facial contouring (cortical bone shaving, masseter reduction), and I spent a long time doing even more online research and in-person consultations. Before surgery, I went around for consultations for about 6 months and visited 10 places.
The deciding points were that asymmetry correction requires extra delicacy, so I carefully checked the surgeon’s technique and experience, and the surgical plan. After thinking about safety, kindness, and other factors, I decided to have it done by Director Park Jong-rim at the plastic surgery clinic.
Day of surgery I met the director, and he explained the detailed plan again. During the consultation that day, on my CT images, he had carefully drawn where and how he would cut for the surgery, so even while I was nervous, I felt reassured. Before, he had said he would leave my chin length as it was, but after measuring it, he said the length was a little long, and he changed the plan to adjust the length. Seeing him look at my photos, measure the length, and adjust it made me think, “If he does it like that, it will be okay,” and that calmed my nervousness a little.
Right after surgery My first feeling after waking up was, “It’s okay?” There was no pain in the cheekbones, but I felt a heavy pain around the jaw. But from then on, an intense 2 hours of suffering began Nosebleeding and massive swelling started. I think my nose bled for about 2-3 minutes, and after that, bloody phlegm kept coming back, so my nose was blocked I kept opening my mouth to breathe through my mouth, so my lips kept cracking, the inside of my mouth got dry, and it was a painful time. While I was struggling like that, the director came by. In the middle of how hard it was, I don’t remember his face, but I only remember his voice. He said there was a lot of bleeding during the surgery on the right side, so that was why my right side had a nosebleed, and that the right side would swell a lot. He told the nurse to bring more ice packs, and said the surgery went well and my face would get much smaller before leaving. Those words really reassured me. That evening, the nurse kept changing my ice packs and checking my facial swelling. I swelled more than other patients, but she changed the ice packs and checked the swelling without showing any annoyance, and I spent the night thinking that I had chosen the clinic well.
Day of discharge During rounds, the director told me I had gotten through the hardest day well, and said that in 3-4 days, I would see the biggest face size of my life, and told me to ice it well. They removed the pain-control line, I received the hospital kit, and was discharged.
After discharge, I was so anxious all day. I had a hard time with bloody phlegm and spent the day worrying about my swelling face, and the morning after discharge, I got a morning call from the director. I had been so worried, but hearing his voice helped me feel stable again He asked what I was eating and explained what I could eat. It was hard because I couldn’t brush my teeth and the area around my mouth kept feeling uncomfortable, and I was worried whether this condition was normal, but when I asked questions by KakaoTalk, the manager explained things kindly and well, so I felt reassured.
From day 4, the swelling started going down surprisingly fast. It went down so fast it was amazing.
One week later, the day I had the sideburn stitches removed In the treatment room, the nurse removed the stitches and checked inside my mouth. She said my gum condition was not good and explained in detail how to brush my teeth, and I received a compression band.
Since then, I’ve been walking and waiting for the swelling to go down. For now, when I try wearing a hat, I definitely feel that my side cheekbones have gone in, and I feel that my face is getting a little smaller every day as the swelling goes down. I’m satisfied with having had surgery at this clinic. There is still swelling, but I’m uploading before-and-after photos.