Before <before surgery> After <after surgery> Hello Normally, my lips and chin tip were asymmetrical, and somehow my face had a strong flat-looking impression. It felt like my central axis was rotated? I had cheekbone surgery before and was very scared, so I had a lot of worries, but as time passed, I thought that rather than cheekbone surgery, I should get double-jaw surgery. After getting consultations and looking into it, on September 19 I had double-jaw surgery and two types of facial contouring surgery (square jaw and front chin) at Y Oral Surgery! I wrote it out by day after surgery, and I hope it helps!
Day of surgery I was so nervous that I took a few breaths, and in about ten seconds? I lost memory. When I woke up, I was already in the recovery room. I think that was around 2 p.m. They said they would remove the gauze-like thing inside my nose at 8 p.m., but time passed so incredibly slowly, and I kept whining to the nurses that it was hard, so they removed it a little early, around 7 maybe? It may not sound like much, but being able to breathe even through my nose really was better. Everyone was kind, but if that night-shift nurse had not been there, I think I really would have gone crazy. She kept comforting me, saying things like, “You must be having such a hard time,” “You are going through so much,” “You are enduring something amazing,” and so on. I was really worried about being hospitalized alone, but hospitalization is completely manageable even without a guardian.
Day 2 It was better than the day of surgery, but breathing was still difficult, and I couldn’t properly drink water or New Care. And I really felt how important a humidifier is. My nose got so dry that it was hard. Also, maybe because I had not slept since yesterday, I was so tired, but it was hard because I couldn’t lie down. I had the IV in continuously, so I just waited for tomorrow to come quickly.
Day 3 The time that felt like it would never pass finally became discharge day on the third day. From 9 a.m., I went through discharge procedures, got my prescription filled at the pharmacy right below the hospital, and went home. Still, home is the best, and I felt like I could survive a little more.
Days 4, 5, 6 The swelling really reached its peak to the point that I wondered if it was even possible to swell this much. lol I kept doing cold compresses, and besides the New Care from the hospital, I had prepared a box? of another protein drink in advance, but oh no, it tasted too much like protein, so I couldn’t drink it. I immediately switched to milkshakes, ice cream like Seolleim, mango smoothies, and so on, and I think I ate like that for about five days. So, thinking about nutrition, I ordered New Care again to try to drink it at least once a day haha. I should have ordered it earlier... Definitely drink New Care. It tastes the best. And I was prescribed pills, but whether it was just my imagination or real, my throat felt as narrow as a pinhole, so from the first day I ground them all up like powder medicine, put them in a sauce bottle, and mixed them with liquid iron supplements or arginine to take them. I also used a home-use InMode laser device for swelling care. I think they told me not to do that, but I swell very easily and know myself well? so I just did it. If you swell easily like me, ask from the beginning to be prescribed powdered medicine. Because compresses and the compression band made me feel like I was suffocating, I couldn’t do them at all as much as at the hospital, and I did warm compresses a little more diligently. I had to go out often, so at cafes I bought smoothies or shakes, put them into a sauce bottle, and drank them. I had to start working right away too, so on day 5 I even went to the bank looking like that. Everyone was surprised. Oh, and I really never imagined that my voice might not come out, so I was very flustered. Please know in advance that your voice may not come out... From day 5, because of work, I had no choice and used something like ventriloquism, though I don’t know whether the other person understood me. But strangely, from day 6, the other person could understand what I was saying? somewhat.
Day 7 I had my first hospital visit after surgery, received laser swelling treatment, and the director disinfected the inside of my mouth. But during disinfection, maybe because I am very sensitive to pain, the inside of my mouth stung so much.
Days 8, 9, 10 As bruising appeared on my face, the swelling decreased compared with week 1, but it was still very puffy. So I took short walks often. If I overdid it even a little, I felt dizzy, maybe because I already have severe anemia. So it is good to keep taking iron supplements after surgery. And because of my asymmetric bite, it hurt my jaw so much when my lower teeth fit exactly into the wafer appliance. Maybe because teeth that were tilted sideways were being artificially aligned, my teeth seemed to hurt.
Day 11 From this day, for food, I made egg porridge very soft and put it in a sauce bottle to eat. After only drinking things, eating porridge tasted so good, even though I usually really hate porridge. The swelling still made my cheeks very puffy, but with a mask on, even if my eyes, nose, and upper lip showed, it was not that noticeable. But the moment I took the mask down, complete mental breakdown haha Still, if you wear a mask, daily life is possible. I was still wearing the wafer appliance, so speaking was frustrating.
Day 16, stitch removal day I had heard that removing stitches really hurts, so I was very nervous when I arrived at the hospital, but it hurt much less than I expected. That was a relief. I received about 20 minutes of swelling laser treatment and came out. Just having the stitches removed feels so freeing. There is still swelling, but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow? haha I thought double-jaw surgery was an extremely difficult surgery where you had to lie in the hospital for six months. I was also ignorant compared with how much I wanted it, but these days I even see men at the hospital, and I think it may not be as dangerous a surgery as I expected. If you are going to do it anyway, worrying only delays time, so I recommend doing it even one day sooner.
One month Finally, it is week 4, almost one month. It feels like I had surgery just yesterday, but time has flown by. There is still a lot of swelling, but I swell very easily, so I think there will be individual differences. And first of all, the visible front view, especially the side view, has changed to look much more three-dimensional, and it is clear that my face has become shorter. I just keep wishing and hoping for the swelling to go down. For eating, I can now eat everything except very hard foods by cutting it with scissors. I got tired of eating porridge for so long, and after seeing someone recommend castella in milk, I tried it, and it was so delicious. It’s my current favorite, so try it once haha At the hospital, the director said the surgery went well, and since time really seems to be the answer, I am not worried about the surgical result. I trust the director endlessly haha. I hope time passes quickly again.
This review is about surgery pursuing natural beauty.