I had 3 types of facial contouring + cortical bone resection and muscle reduction surgery at Noh Jong Hoon Plastic Surgery on March 24.
When it had been 2 weeks after surgery, my cheekbones had been large to begin with, but they weren't the type to stand out much from the front, so even though they became almost straight with my temples as I wanted, I felt a bit disappointed because the frontal effect didn't seem that big. But comparing it with week 2, at 1 month I could clearly feel that the width of the temples and lateral cheekbones from the front had decreased, so I think the temples had been swollen too. Since my cheekbones were moved in quite a lot, during consultation I asked them not to make the cheekbones so absent that my face would look unattractive. At 1 month, as the swelling went down, I could see that they had left an appropriate amount of 45-degree cheekbone volume so it didn't look bad, which made me satisfied. Around week 2 the swelling went down a lot once, and then around month 1 the swelling in my jaw and cheeks went down slightly. In the evening the swelling would go down, but every morning when I woke up and looked in the mirror, there were days when my face was swollen again and looked a bit rectangular, and days when it looked very slim. For the jawline, from the side, when I stayed still, the mandibular angle under the ear and the chin were relatively distinct, while the side line still looked buried in swelling. When I lifted my chin, I saw bulging areas protruding on both sides under the jaw and worried that my salivary glands were showing, but now at month 2 they have disappeared, so I think the salivary glands had also been swollen. Also, because I see my face every day, I didn't really notice it, but my family said there was still a lot of swelling in my cheeks. When I went for a follow-up at week 5, took facial photos, and checked before and after, I could confirm that there was definitely still a lot of swelling in the cheeks and chin area. At 1 month, both the yellow bruising and red bruising had completely disappeared. For pain, originally when I touched the jawline area connecting my face and neck, it felt stiff and sore overall, so even when washing I touched it extremely gently. But the pain around the square jaw area had almost disappeared. The cheekbones and chin still hurt, but it had improved enough that I didn't have to consciously touch them gently when washing my face. The jawline was still stiff, but I think I could feel that the intensity was gradually weakening. Personally, I felt the chin was the slowest to recover. There was always a stiff feeling at the intraoral incision site, and visually it seemed like a slight line? had formed along the incision area toward the chin (it wasn't noticeable just looking normally, but it bothered me when I looked closely or put force into my chin). When I asked the director, he said this can happen with chin osteotomy and that it gradually returns, and I am actually feeling the stiffness and line gradually fading. As for sensation, even at week 2 I felt it had mostly returned, but there was a slight numb, anesthetized feeling in the chin area, so there were often times when I wouldn't notice if I spilled food. At 1 month, I think it had returned normally without that. At 1 month, one finger could fit into my mouth comfortably, but two fingers were still difficult. With a regular spoon, I ate everything except foods that were too hard or tough by cutting them into pieces small enough to put in my mouth haha. Still, since my mouth didn't open completely, I couldn't eat neatly, so I barely made meal plans with anyone other than family. Until week 2, I gargled with the disinfectant solution the hospital gave me, and after that I brushed my teeth with a children's toothbrush. Until around week 3, my mouth didn't open comfortably and I couldn't stick out my tongue well, so I couldn't brush extremely cleanly. Around month 1, I think I could do it somewhat cleanly. Until month 1, when washing, I was careful not to touch the cheekbone incision sites strongly just in case, and I washed without worrying about water touching them. The consultant said I could stop using the compression band the hospital gave me now, buy a regular lifting band, and use it whenever I remembered while watching TV or doing other things, but from around month 1 I forgot and didn't use the compression band or warm compresses at all...hahaㅜㅜ Until month 1, I consciously avoided blowing my nose. By then, runny nose and phlegm had almost stopped, nosebleeds were also just occasional small amounts of pooled blood, and saliva no longer leaked, so I slept comfortably without paying much attention to posture. Also, I originally had a habit of resting my chin on my hand, but I have continued not doing that since surgery.
I went to the hospital for my week-5 follow-up on day 37. Until then, I consistently went to the hospital once a week for aftercare and asked the consultant anything I was curious about. On day 37, I arrived at the hospital, took a CT scan and facial photos, and checked my progress with the director. When eating or brushing my teeth, if I had chewed food too hard or opened my mouth too much and felt slight cheekbone pain, I worried that nonunion might occur. But after confirming on CT that the cheekbones were attaching well without gaps, and hearing the director say they were attaching well at a normal speed, I felt relieved. As I mentioned earlier, comparing the before and after facial photos confirmed that there was still a lot of swelling around the cheeks and chin, and the director also said those swollen areas would go down to some extent like before. I also got answers to other questions, and since it was Saturday and the staff member who provides care was not at the hospital, I went straight home.
I'm usually an easygoing person, but there were several moments during recovery when I was worried. However, the director and consultants at Noh Jong Hoon Plastic Surgery consistently treated me kindly, and not only was the surgical result satisfying, but communication with the hospital was really good, with status checks every time I went for regular aftercare and careful follow-up checks at appropriate intervals. So I think I spent the first month after surgery with a comfortable mind. I will soon write my final 2-month review as well '^'!!
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