Before and after before before after after after<Reason for surgery and why I chose the hospital> Even though I had orthodontic treatment in high school, my jaw became misaligned and my front teeth started to gap, so while looking into re-orthodontic treatment, I decided on double-jaw surgery. As I got past my growth period, the asymmetry became more severe, and my temporomandibular joint also started to be strained. In my case, because the lengths of the bones on both sides of my jaw were different, double-jaw surgery was the only answer, and after consultations at about four oral and maxillofacial surgery hospitals, I was diagnosed as a double-jaw case at all of them, so I became firmly set on surgery rather than orthodontic treatment. Among the four hospitals, I had my consultation at Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery last. The first reason was that the operating room CCTV can be viewed live by a guardian, and the second was that the director's experience and preferred style matched me well, so I decided to go ahead with the surgery.
<Day of surgery (4/15)> I arrived at the hospital around 9:30 and had a preoperative consultation with the director. I prefer a natural style with the chin point and angles near the ears still remaining, so I discussed the design with the director based on the photos I had sent to the manager, and they explained the surgical plan, including how many millimeters the jaw would be moved in. Since I had orthodontic treatment before, I felt a bit disappointed that the degree of improvement might be less than for someone who had not had orthodontics, but they said they would adjust it as much as possible, so I trusted the director and had the surgery! The surgery ended faster than expected and with not much bleeding. Other people say they feel dazed and have a hard time when waking up from general anesthesia, but as soon as I woke up I was perfectly clear-headed and not even sleepy. Maybe because of that, the facial pain and headache were so severe that I suffered until night. The director said about 2 out of 10 people suffer from headaches, and I never expected I would be one of them.... The tube in my nose made breathing possible without difficulty, and rather than any other discomfort, I think I had a hard time all night with pain and headaches.
<Day 2> Around 8 a.m. in the morning, the urinary catheter was removed and I walked around inside the hospital little by little. After the director came, they removed the drainage tube and checked the wafer. It didn't really hurt, and once the drainage tube and urinary catheter were removed, I felt much better than the day before! They gave me New Care and water to drink, but my throat hurt so much that even swallowing a sip of saliva was difficult, so I could only drink about half a bottle of New Care with a syringe... After the nasal tube was removed, my nose became blocked, so when phlegm got stuck in my throat, it was hard to breathe, and each time the nurse came to help me calm down. Just like the day before, I had headaches and facial pain, and I had a fever at night, but they came throughout the night, kept replacing the ice packs, and checked my temperature!
<Day 3> On the morning of discharge day, I received swelling laser treatment, had a progress check with the director, and then was discharged. I was worried that I would now have to take pills instead of injections, but taking pills was easier than I expected. I used the pill dispenser I had used to give my family's dog medicine, placed the pill at the back of my throat, drank water, and it went down right away! The day before, I couldn't even finish one bottle of New Care, but as each day passed I could feel myself gradually improving, and my throat pain also got much better, so on this day I spent the whole day eating, taking medicine, and gargling, with 4 bottles of New Care, rice porridge, mashed fruit, and so on.
<Day 4> I'm tall and quite thin, so I tried my best to eat well in case I lost weight. Every 4 hours I alternated between one bottle of New Care, soup, and mashed fruit. Because I was eating without stopping, I didn't feel like my energy dropped as much as expected, so I also went for 30-minute walks at lunch and dinner! My nose was still blocked, so I had discomfort such as waking up every 2-3 hours, facial tenderness, and a slight headache.
<Day 5> When I woke up in the morning, my face was so swollen I wondered if this was even a human face, and my whole face felt tight and painful. I could really feel what people mean when they talk about tenderness... On this day I had 4 bottles of New Care, porridge, soup, fruit juice, and so on at 4-hour intervals, and I also went on a 1 hour 30 minute walk by myself, but I must have overdone it, because by the time I got home I was so dizzy I nearly crawled back. (Please go with a guardian..!) It was only day 5 after surgery, and I think I overestimated my stamina.
<Day 6-7> When I slept at night, I used to wake up every 1-2 hours at first, but as my nose gradually opened up I was able to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time. Starting around this time, the swelling gradually began to come down from its peak, the tenderness improved a lot, and the headache that had bothered me the most almost disappeared! Just like before, I spent the whole day eating 4 bottles of New Care, porridge, soup, dongchimi broth, nurungji broth, and so on, and also walked for an hour.
<First visit (4/23)> After discharge, I came to the hospital for the first time and received treatment. After arriving, I got swelling laser treatment and the inside wounds were disinfected. Fortunately, they were healing well without any infection, and it stung a little when it was disinfected. The director said the swelling was not severe but the bruising was bad, so on the way home I immediately bought bruise cream and applied it.
<Day 10-14> There were no major unusual issues, and I ate rice by blending Bonjuk porridge 100% and mixing it with New Care. After meals, I did warm compresses with a steam towel for 30 minutes, 3 times a day, and I also kept up with an hour of walking every day. I don't know if it was because of the bruise cream, or the warm compresses and walking, but the bruising on my face had all disappeared after one week, and I could really feel the swelling going down a lot within that week! Actually, as the swelling went down, I wondered if there was still a little asymmetry left, but the swelling inside my mouth and in both cheeks is uneven anyway, and it takes a long time for the muscles and flesh to follow the bones, so I'm trying not to worry too much about it!
<Second visit (5/4)> Because of personal circumstances, my second appointment was a little late, so I came in worried that removing the stitches would hurt more. After swelling laser treatment, the stitches were removed, and unlike my worries, it only hurt a little when the front upper and lower stitches were removed, and the rest didn't hurt at all! The director told me to start mouth exercises too, so I'm practicing hard by opening my mouth wide. Also, I really love Pyongyang naengmyeon, and on the day the stitches were removed I went to eat it right away and cut it into small pieces with scissors and finished it all.. As of now, in the third week, there isn't much discomfort. Since getting the stitches removed, I've been cutting the food I want to eat into pieces and swallowing it without chewing, and I can open my mouth about two finger widths. I've lost about 3 kg, so I'm trying to gain it back! The swelling seems to have plateaued a bit, which worries me, but I think it's a surgery worth doing if you just endure the first week after surgery well. Since there are big differences in sagging skin and recovery ability, I'm glad I had the surgery when I was still as young as possible.