Helloooo! At the end of May, I had two-jaw surgery and revision surgery for my square jaw and chin! I’m writing a review because I hope it will be helpful
<Choosing the hospital> From some point in early May, my lower face kept feeling tense and I had pain in my temporomandibular joint when chewing food, so I wondered if it was due to my protruding lower jaw, or if the orthodontic treatment I had in my mid-20s had gone wrong. I decided on two-jaw surgery and made appointments for consultations. Because two-jaw surgery carries risks and I wanted both functional and aesthetic improvements, I think I looked into oral and maxillofacial surgery clinics rather than plastic surgery clinics. I planned to consult at about two hospitals and first went to Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. After talking with the director and consultant, I felt confidence and trust, so I paid the deposit and booked the surgery that same day! I live in Busan, so I think I woke up at 5 a.m. on the Saturday consultation day and headed out haha
Since I was young, I had a very severe protruding lower jaw, but because of fear of two-jaw surgery and the financial burden, I couldn’t even dare to do it. I tried orthodontic treatment and facial contouring surgery, thinking they might treat the protruding jaw even a little, but my chin only became more prominent and the protruding appearance wasn’t resolved.
When I went for the consultation, this was how I felt. Before I knew it, I was 34 and not exactly very young anymore. I went with the mindset that if I heard during the consultation that two-jaw surgery would be difficult or something negative, I would just live roughly as I was. But the doctor readily(?) said it was possible, and since I had studied a lot on YouTube, the consultation ended within a short time and I think we set the surgery date. Also, since I was a revision case after facial contouring surgery, I knew the surgery cost would be more expensive, but the consultant in charge adjusted the price reasonably, so I felt less burdened. (Thank you so much)
<Pain>
So I had the surgery under sleep anesthesia and woke up afterward. Honestly, there was no pain at all, but I had to wait for the anesthetic gas to come out, so enduring the overwhelming sleepiness, and having my mouth and throat feel like they were burning while I couldn’t drink even a sip of water, was really painful. I think this was the worst part of two-jaw surgery. I normally breathe through my nose, but my nose was completely blocked with blood and there was also a blood drainage tube connected in my mouth, so trying to breathe was even harder. Before surgery, if you’re someone who isn’t good at breathing through your mouth, I definitely recommend practicing mouth breathing. After I got permission to drink water, I hurriedly drank water with a syringe, but it felt like I was barely drinking, just wetting my mouth, and I kept dozing off and waking up. A whole day passed like that. I’m also grateful to the nurses who worked hard changing my ice packs every dawn, emptying my urine, and checking my blood pressure. I couldn’t speak, so I wasn’t able to say thank you properly. The nasal congestion also started gradually disappearing from day 5 and became more comfortable.
<Swelling>
Personally, I think the swelling peaked around days 4-5. The director had told me the day before the 31st that it would swell more, but I didn’t know it would be this much. My face felt like it was just going to burst. I kept doing ice compresses, but the swelling was unmanageable. I really felt like my face would pop and burst, and I thought I might die from the swelling if I didn’t at least go for walks, so I walked a little at night. Maybe because of the swelling, I also had a slight headache. This was the day I kept feeling like my jaw was slipping out. Every time I briefly lowered my head while sleeping, it felt like either the wafer or my jaw kept slipping forward.
<Discomfort>
The biggest discomfort is definitely food. Before removing the wafer, I only drank watery juice, New Care, and ion drinks. At week 2, they said I could remove the wafer and eat things like porridge, so even now I’m only eating soft porridge-like foods. Other than food intake, I don’t think there’s anything particularly uncomfortable.
<Follow-up visit> I still have a lot of swelling around the philtrum, around the nose, and the chin area. Since I originally didn’t have much fat around the jaw, I don’t think there’s much swelling there. My parents say my face got smaller and my chin got smaller. When I look in the mirror, I still can’t really tell, but since people around me see it that way, it’s fascinating. My biggest worry is that the left square jaw and right square jaw are still different, but I was reassured because they said it will gradually improve. Personally, I think the reason my recovery is slow is probably my age, and I do regret not doing it even one year earlier haha As the swelling goes down, it’s fascinating that my face changes day by day, and as my lip shape and sensation gradually return, it’s really amazing.