Hello On 5/23, I had two-jaw surgery + 3 facial contouring procedures (zygoma, square jaw, chin tip) with Director Lee Seok-jae at Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery~
<Before surgery> Before surgery, I had orthodontic treatment for about 3 years because of a protruding mouth and malocclusion. While doing orthodontics, I was told that two-jaw surgery was the only answer, and that became the first reason I started thinking about two-jaw surgery. I thought it would get better with orthodontics alone, but once the protruding mouth became somewhat acceptable, I started worrying so, so much about my cheekbones, square jaw, and facial asymmetry that there came a time when I felt like I was going crazy. After living for about 3 years with my self-esteem at rock bottom, my daily life became ruined beyond words. In the end, I decided to have surgery, had a consultation, and finally the day of surgery came.
<After surgery> I don’t remember the day very well. I had heard that I needed to get the anesthetic gas out, so I think I spent the whole time trying to do that. It was tough. I couldn’t eat anything until 8:30 and had to focus on getting the gas out, so it was very uncomfortable. At dawn, I couldn’t breathe well, so I kept calling the nurse, and she kept coming, changed my ice pack, and continued taking care of me by my side Thanks to that, I don’t think I felt that anxious. I couldn’t sleep at all.
<Post-op day 2> Around 8 in the morning, they removed the urinary catheter, hoses, blood drain, and injection. Things like the urinary catheter were so uncomfortable that I didn’t feel pain when they removed them. I also tolerate pain well, and since it had been uncomfortable, I actually felt relieved. The director came and removed the blood drain himself. After that, I drank the water and New Care the hospital brought me and took the medication I had already been taking, so it became somewhat bearable. I think I slept in three-hour intervals that day. Likewise, I kept bothering the nurse, and I was so grateful
<Post-op day 3> When I woke up, it was discharge day, so I came home. As soon as I got home, I had to take medicine, but my throat was extremely swollen and I couldn’t breathe through my nose either, so it kept getting stuck in my throat and I coughed a lot. I wondered if this was normal, and since the nurses who had been beside me weren’t there, I felt even more anxious. I had wanted to be discharged quickly, but as soon as I was discharged and came home, I regretted it… haha
<Post-op days 4-6> My face was so swollen that I wondered if it was okay to be this swollen, so I was really shocked When I gargled, the area around my mouth hurt and felt like it had torn, so I contacted the manager, and she said it could still be like that at this stage, so I tried to think positively haha The foods I could have were New Care and drinks, and my life was just repeating eating, taking medicine, and gargling. I was scared of inflammation, so even when my throat was too swollen to swallow the medicine, I tried really hard to crush it and drink it Whenever I took off the compression band while eating, my face felt so heavy, like it was going to sag down, and my ears felt so blocked. I wanted to go in for my visit quickly Since the swelling wasn’t going down much, from then on I walked at home for 30 minutes at a time.
<Post-op day 7> It felt like the swelling had gone down very slightly, but I think it was just my imagination haha Since my appointment was the next day, I washed for the first time in a week, ate my usual New Care and tomato juice, took medicine, and gargled.
<Post-op day 8> Finally, appointment day… After arriving, I got a swelling laser treatment, had my mouth disinfected, and had the sideburn stitches removed. My lip flakes were stuck to the stitches, so it hurt and I couldn’t peel them off, but the director peeled them off for me… It hurt a lot, but it felt refreshing. When disinfecting the sutured areas, I had to open my mouth a lot, so it hurt so much that I teared up a little, but I just endured it From that day on, I was told I could take out the wafer and eat things like ice cream or porridge, so when I got home, I ate porridge for the first time. It was so delicious that I teared up a little. But maybe because I had only been drinking things like beverages and then ate something that felt like real food, I got indigestion
<Post-op days 9-14> There were more things I could eat than before, so from this point on, aside from the discomfort in my face, I don’t think there was anything particularly uncomfortable! Since I was only eating porridge, I kept thinking that I wanted to hurry up and get the stitches inside my mouth removed and eat ramen…
<Post-op day 15> It was my second appointment day! I had heard that removing the intraoral stitches hurt, so I was really worried.. Since they definitely had to look inside my mouth, they pulled my mouth, so the tender flesh got pulled? It did hurt, but it was tolerable. The director’s hands were fast, so if you just endure a brief moment of pain, you can eat many more things. I held on with that thought The wafer was more uncomfortable than I expected. My pronunciation kept leaking, so I had a hard time. They told me to practice opening my mouth for about an hour, so I tried as much as I could, doing “a-e-i-o-u” too, but 30 minutes was my max… Still, I tried to keep doing it consistently.
<Post-op week 4> Finally, the day came to put on braces Actually, I had done orthodontics before, so I wasn’t nervous, and I was happier about the fact that I didn’t have to wear the wafer. Once it had been a month since surgery, I had X-rays taken, consulted with the director, and got braces attached. I was actually a bit worried because my jaw had been hurting, so I asked the director, and he just told me the facts in an unaffected way, which actually made me feel more reassured haha.. When I compared it with my pre-op photos, I was surprised because my face had definitely gotten smaller… They also said about 40-50% of the swelling had gone down, so I thought enduring it is the answer. They said from today I could chew soft foods with a texture around the level of rice, so I was happy After the consultation, getting the braces attached didn’t hurt much, but when they put the mouth opener in my mouth to take photos, it hurt so much Still, they tried to finish quickly, and when attaching the braces, they told me in advance before doing things in case I got startled, so I wasn’t scared at all They asked if any of the screws placed in my gums had been painful, removed that one, explained things, and I came home! I’m already at one month. Time feels like it’s passing quickly but also slowly. I want to reach the 6-month mark soon and see my face after all the swelling has gone down!!
<2 months> It’s already been 2 months since surgery. Only 2 months have passed, but I can eat almost everything I want, so I’m eating so well that I wonder if this is right. The right side of my jaw used to make a sound and hurt whenever I chewed, but as time passes, it seems to be gradually getting better. The swelling is still there in the areas people commonly call candy-like swelling, the philtrum, and the front cheeks, and those areas are still tight and puffy, so it will need a little more time to return, but my facial line has really changed noticeably!! In the end, I guess time is the medicine haha Once again, thank you to the director for performing the surgery beautifully><
This review is a surgery review pursuing natural beauty.