Before/after review I had lateral cheekbone surgery, liposuction around the chin, and double-chin muscle tightening at a plastic surgery clinic!
Surgery date: Monday, October 28
Before surgery > Even when I looked in the mirror normally, and especially when I took photos, I hated how my cheekbones looked so, so prominent, so I decided to get cheekbone surgery. I needed to keep meeting people regularly, and I didn’t want it to be obvious that I had surgery, so I spent a long time looking for a hospital with fast recovery and good reviews. After getting a consultation at the clinic, I decided to have surgery there. I think the consultation with the director was straightforward. After looking at my face, he asked what kind of facial contour shape I wanted, then said lateral cheekbone surgery would probably have a good effect, and told me about procedures that would be good to do together, like double-chin muscle tightening! Actually, I had also been really concerned about my double chin, but it was my first time learning that this kind of procedure existed, so I decided to do it together! The consultant also answered every single thing I was curious about, and carefully wrote down all the parts I was worried about.
After surgery > I had double-jaw surgery in 2014, and because of that, no matter how much weight I lost, the sagging double chin didn’t change. So I had chin liposuction, double-chin muscle tightening, and lateral cheekbone surgery all done at once.
Immediately after surgery~1 week: On the day of surgery, I had a pretty severe headache and felt very nauseous. Still, I was able to take a taxi and come home by myself. After that, for 4 days, I kept visiting the hospital to get antibiotics, disinfect the wound at the muscle-tightening area, and change the gauze each time. Since I had to go to the hospital even if I had to make myself do it, moving my body seemed to help me recover a little faster. I had a consultation with the director once the day after surgery, I think? And then again at 1 week post-op. After surgery, there is a lot of tape attached to your face. On day 4, they remove the tape on the cheekbones, and at 1 week, they remove all the tape on the chin and neck areas where the muscle tightening was done. At the second consultation with the director, maybe because my swelling had gone down faster than expected, the director seemed a bit surprised lol. Everyone, you really need to walk around a lot! What they emphasized on the day all the tape was removed was that I had to move my body a lot and wear the compression band well. They said if I just lay down because it hurt, I would swell more and it wouldn’t be goodㅠㅠ
Week 1~Week 2: The very next day after all the tape was removed, I went out! I went to CGV to watch a movie, and the friend I went with said they were hungry and ate something like a brunch combo. I tried a little scrambled egg there, and it was soft, so I could eat it too! But since I wore a mask and walked around all day, my face was still swollen, so it kept rubbing and hurting. Also, the precaution list you receive before surgery says to avoid using a straw if possible, and I understood why. I went to a cafe and, for the first time after surgery, took a sip of a drink through a straw, and the muscle-tightened side got stimulated and felt stiff and painful. I also had no choice but to eat dinner outside, so I cut cold noodles into really tiny pieces and ate them almost like drinking them! It was possible? But the ramen my friend ate was, oh… I thought my throat was going to tear apart. Spicy and irritating foods are still impossible! And from 1 week post-op, I started applying bruise cream and surgical scar ointment right away. I happened to have scar ointment at home, so I checked it and it said it could be used on surgical scars too, so I applied a lot, wore the compression band, and slept. (The ointment name is “Noscarna”! I bought it for acne scars and ended up benefiting from it)
On day 10, I tried going to the gym once. Since I couldn’t eat proper meals, I felt like the muscles in my body were disappearing quickly, so I went thinking I should exercise even a little, and I worked hard on lower-body exercises. Of course, I used much lighter weights than what I usually used. When I asked the director, he said it was okay as long as I didn’t clench my teeth hard enough to affect my cheekbones, so I exercised with light weights. The bruising was still spread in yellow from around my mouth down to my neck. It can be covered with concealer! The swelling was, well… still the sameㅠㅠ
On day 12, I suddenly looked in the mirror and the bruising had become much~ lighter? Maybe because I applied a ton of bruise cream before sleeping…? But the swelling around the deep cheek area was still… Except for the swollen areas, sensation in my face had almost returned. On this day, I succeeded in eating soft noodles like udon!
Week 2~Week 3: From this point, unless you looked closely, the bruises were barely visible, so I went around without a mask too. Since my chin area had been rubbing so much and it hurt even more when irritated, I threw it away without regret. Unless I was meeting a friend or had to be in a situation where someone would look at my face for a long time, I didn’t bother putting makeup on the bruised areas either.
On day 16, I visited the gym again, and this time I completed an upper-body workout! I usually clench my teeth harder when doing upper body than lower body, so I was extremely careful while doing it. That day I also went out, and while eating various things, I moved my jaw a lot. Because I chewed too often, the muscles behind my jaw? around the area behind my ears felt quite stiff. So I decided to be a bit more careful. And! Finally! I could eat ramen! ㅠㅠㅠ For kimchi, I could only eat really tiny pieces of the leafy part, and I was sad that I couldn’t eat anything crunchy, but anyway, I was so happy that I could eat ramen!!
On day 18, the scar ointment finally started to show its effect! The scabs on the area where the muscle tightening was done all fell off, and now only a faint scar remains. Luckily, it’s under the chin, so I could say it’s acne or a bruise and it would be believable. And from this point, I felt like my jawline was starting to show little by little. Before, when I lowered my head, the fat would bulge and fold, but that was gone, so it was so, so fascinating! When washing my face, the area near the scar is still sensitive, so I do have to be careful, but I’m at the point where I don’t have to wash my face quite as gently anymore. I think tilting my head back will take some time.
And the bruising has gotten lighter, but there is still a very faint, subtle yellowish tone left. The swelling around the deep cheek? jowl area has gone down quite a bit too, but it hasn’t completely gone away. The major swelling disappears quickly, but it seems like it takes some time for these smaller swellings to fully go away. Maybe I need to drink more pumpkin juice lol
Even though the small swelling hasn’t all gone down yet, maybe because the cheekbones that used to stick out are gone, photos come out pretty much to my liking now. I’ll keep working on it for another month or two until the swelling completely goes down, and then I’ll post another review!
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Cheekbone lateral cheekbone double chin muscle tightening liposuction
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This review is for surgery pursuing a natural look.