I had finished orthodontic treatment when I was a student, but even after the braces were removed, over time my jaw kept protruding forward until my front teeth and lower teeth could bite together, and in the process my jaw twisted to the left, changing my facial shape into an asymmetrical one. To improve this, I decided to undergo double jaw surgery, and since I had time available, I immediately started looking into hospitals and got a consultation! During the process of looking for a hospital, I listened to a lot of people’s advice and came to prefer oral and maxillofacial surgery over plastic surgery, and at the very first clinic I consulted, Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, I even scheduled the surgery date right away. They answered my questions accurately, and the fact that they do only one surgery per day and that only one director performs the surgeries was what made me trust them the most. Before surgery, my anemia level was low, so I visited OB-GYN and received iron injections three times, which took extra time and cost. In the end, my anemia level still did not rise by the time of surgery, so I had to receive a blood transfusion during the operation, which added some more cost and was a bit burdensome. If you have decided on double jaw surgery, I recommend managing your diet in advance and taking iron supplements to control your iron levels.
[Double jaw surgery, contouring 2 procedures, square jaw and chin surgery - day of surgery] On the morning of surgery, I arrived on time, changed into surgical clothes, entered the operating room at 10, and the surgery ended around 2:30. My mom came as my guardian and watched the process, and after surgery I was moved straight to the inpatient room, where while I was lying down she kept helping me stay awake and breathe so I could expel the anesthetic gas. At the time I could not move my body, it was hard to breathe, I kept getting sleepy, and it was not easy to stay awake. My throat was so dry it hurt, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I kept asking for just a little water. The director came by after surgery when I was starting to come to, and told me the surgery had gone well, which put me at ease. I had a drainage bulb and a urinary catheter, a hose in my nose, and something connected to a machine on my finger too, so movement was uncomfortable, and I had no appetite at all, so I did not eat anything the whole day. In the evening, the guardian had to leave at 7 p.m. by rule, so I was left alone, but the night-shift nurse came every two hours even during the night to check on me, empty the drainage bulb, and give warm words of encouragement, which I was so grateful for. I could only sleep in 10-minute stretches and kept waking up, so I spent most of the night with my eyes open. Because I had phlegm, I kept coughing, but coughing could strain my jaw, so it was uncomfortable that I had to hold it in.
[The next day after surgery] After spending the night unable to sleep, as soon as day broke the nurse removed the urinary catheter. It came out so quickly that it did not hurt at all, and in fact it made moving around easier, which was nice. Not long after, the director removed the drainage bulb too, and I realized while it was being taken out that the drain had been inserted deeper into my mouth than I had expected. It did not hurt! The director also taught me how to wear the wafer. My body seemed to gradually regain strength, so I tried walking around the hospital with my guardian, and by the afternoon my face could clearly be seen getting puffier. That day I made sure to drink NewCare and do gargles from time to time, and I was able to sleep for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, so time seemed to pass better than the day before.
[Day 3 after surgery - discharge day] After the 2 nights and 3 days of hospitalization, I met the director in the morning, listened carefully to the precautions, and was discharged, receiving a prescription from the pharmacy.
[Day 4 to day 7] First, when sleeping, I slept almost upright, like leaning back in a chair, and once I fell asleep it was hard to stay asleep for more than an hour. Sticky blood-mucus-like discharge kept coming out of my nose, so I had to wipe it away often with tissues. I also had blood-tinged phlegm, but it was not easy to spit it out, and since they told me not to force it out, I tried to swallow it down while drinking water often. Up until the one-week mark, the swelling built up to the point where I wondered if a face could really swell this much, and even though I do not have much fat in my face, it swelled badly, which was emotionally hard. Still, seeing the clearly established facial symmetry and the jaw line falling harmoniously across my face made me feel that, even though it was hard, I was really glad I had the surgery. After day 6, it stopped swelling further and started to go down little by little! In the evenings I tried to walk a lot by going out for walks, and after walking and coming back, the swelling in my face definitely looked like it had gone down a bit. For meals I ate NewCare, porridge, and similar foods together, and people said eating well helps you recover faster, so I tried to eat as much as possible! I also kept wearing the band the hospital gave me from time to time to prevent skin sagging. Because my face was so swollen, I did not want to meet people and ended up avoiding going out, and the hardship of not being able to chew or eat was very difficult, but since this was something I had prepared myself for, I kept steadying my mind and focused as much as possible on recovery.
[Day 8 - first follow-up visit] On the day of my first follow-up after surgery, after checking my progress with the director, they disinfected the inside of my mouth. I had worried because it seemed very swollen, but they said that most people are about this swollen and that mine was not especially severe, which was a great comfort. They also said I was recovering well, and I had been worried because there was a particularly hard-feeling area on my left cheek, but they said it was just part of the swelling and there was no inflammation, which was a relief. I also received swelling laser treatment and went home.
[Days 9 to 14] The swelling was gradually going down, so it was fascinating to see my face change a little every day. Because the stitches were holding the skin, smiling was difficult, so I kept looking forward to the day the stitches would come out. I still could only eat liquid foods, but when I ate foods with a little texture, like mashed tofu, soft steamed eggs, and Greek yogurt, it was bearable! Starting from week 2, unlike week 1, the throbbing sensation and occasional headaches disappeared, so I could sleep more deeply at night, and to reduce swelling I did not sleep completely flat. I made hot compresses every day without fail and also went on walks in between.
[Day 15 - second follow-up] It was the long-awaited day for stitch removal, and the director was so delicate that I could tell they were really trying to remove the stitches gently. It stung a little, but it was tolerable, and it was over in about 2 to 3 minutes. After the stitch removal, I came home, but there were still some stitches I could feel, so I asked the manager via KakaoTalk, and they told me that stitches buried deeply can be hard to remove, so they do not force them out, and they come out naturally with time. That reassured me. (In fact, two days later the stitches came out naturally on their own.)
[Days 16 to 30] From two weeks to one month, there was still a puffy amount of swelling left in my face, but it was at a level where I could wear makeup and meet people. Since I still had not had my braces removed yet, there were no foods I could chew, so eating was a bit of a struggle, but aside from that, I really like how my face is gradually settling into place!
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This review is a post-surgery review pursuing natural beauty.