- [ ] Day 1: I had originally booked two procedures plus submental fat removal, but on the day of surgery the doctor looked at the CT again and said it was such a shame not to do all three, so I changed it to three procedures. I had been self-conscious about my cheekbones since elementary school, but even after going into the operating room and lying down, right up until just before anesthesia kicked in, I kept wondering whether I should just live with my round, broad face, whether I should cancel the surgery, and whether I was really making the right choice. Then I drifted off to sleep. Surgery started around 10:30, and in the recovery room someone asked what time it was, so from what I heard, the operation had ended around 2:30 and I was resting. I’m alive, thank goodness, haha. I was so cold and in so much pain... I never want to go through that again. It wasn’t just the pain; I was shaking so hard from the cold, my whole body trembling for almost two hours, and I kept shaking even after I got to the private hospital room. Once the cold started to ease a little, I began to feel pain in my jaw. It was bearable, but maybe about 7 out of 10...? They said the painkillers were being given, but my jaw felt numb and throbbing, and it really was like what people describe online, as if someone pressed my jaw against asphalt and pushed it along... I fell asleep worrying about when it would get better, then woke up because of the pain, over and over...ㅋㅋ It was absolutely horrible. After surgery, I promised myself I’d never have surgery again. And because of the compression bandage, my jaw felt insanely suffocating too. I was thirsty and hungry as well, but between the pain and how exhausted my body was, I didn’t really think about it much. I just kept thinking, ah... this hurts... how long will it hurt... ah... time, just go faster... Oh, and my runny nose and phlegm kept coming out mixed with blood. My nose and throat felt so stuffed up. Getting rhinoplasty and contouring surgery at the same time is insanely, insanely, insanely not recommendedㅠ I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Please think seriously about it again.
- [ ] Day 2: The pain was similar to the first day after surgery. Even though I was swollen, when I took photos my facial line looked smoother, and that made me feel good. But my right cheekbone was so swollen that my lower eyelashes kept poking my eyeball... sob. It was torture. Anyway, the pain was similar to Day 1, and I got the urinary catheter and drainage tube removed and was discharged. I’d been scared because people said removing the catheter and drain hurts, but it doesn’t seem like there was much reason to worry. The doctor also came by on rounds and congratulated me, saying the surgery had gone well. Still, I was starving because I had fasted for 10 hours from the day before surgery, so in total it had been about 36 hours of fasting... As soon as I got home I ate congee, then dozed in pain, waking and sleeping repeatedly. When I was a bit more clear-headed, I did cold compresses, then kept falling asleep and waking up again. Then I heard walking helps reduce swelling, so I went out to the school field in front of my house and walked 10 laps, then came back.
- [ ] Day 3: The pain had eased a lot. Now it was a battle with the swelling... My body still felt like it hadn’t recovered yet, so I was tired and sluggish. Since I had slept sitting up, I got a skin rash just before developing a pressure sore. It itched like crazy, so I put a soft blanket under my hip area and slept turned on my side. Compared with Days 1 and 2, I don’t think there was much difference in recovery... The swelling was basically the same, and only the pain seemed a bit better. But the coughing was terrible and my voice still hadn’t come backㅠㅠ I was pretty tired that day, so I only walked for about 20 minutes.
- [ ] Day 4: I thought I was going to die from the coughing. Whenever I was awake, I kept coughing... My throat was still rough and my voice was gone... just a hoarse voiceㅎㅎㅎ I was worried the coughing would jolt my face, so I held my jaw and cheekbones with my hand while coughing. Taking the cough medicine I had at home helped a bit, but the effect only lasted a very short timeㅠㅠ... The good part was that the pain had completely disappeared, and the swelling around my eyes went down just a little, so my lower eyelashes poked my eyes fewer times. Before, they were poking constantly, but now it was only for about half a dayㅎㅎ I walked for about an hour.
- [ ] Day 5: The coughing is still insanely bad, ugh... I searched online and it says it’s a laryngitis symptom after general anesthesia? Since they say it gets better in about a week to 10 days, let’s just keep holding my jaw and cheekbones and cough until then!^^ And I washed my hair. I had been showering my body every day because it was summer, but I couldn’t wash my hair for 5 days because I was worried water might get into the cheekbone incision site while washing it, and I felt so gross, so I just removed the dressing, disinfected it, put on acne patches, and slapped on a fairly large Inoderm? patch, then washed my hair twiceㅎㅎ It felt so refreshing and I loved it. Also, while washing my hair, the taping got soaked too, so I just took it off and re-did it myself at homeㅋㅋㅋㅋ If you have regular medical tape and stretchy taping bands, it wasn’t hard at all to do it. Good^^* The coughing is still severe, but my voice feels like it’s about 40% back. There was a heavy rain warning outside, so I kept the air conditioner on and rested comfortably at home...!!!
That’s it,,, I found this in my notes app and decided to post it once. Back then I coughed so much that I had a tiny rib fracture, which is why it hurtㅠ Now I’m really doing fine and I can open my mouth properly! There’s still pain if I press hard on the cheekbone area, but it hurts less than pressing on a bruise! My satisfaction is 3 out of 5, because I was aiming for a natural look, so it didn’t change dramaticallyㅋㅋㅋ It just refined the line a bit?
Side effects were 1. Clicking in the jaw joint after surgery...ㅠ -> They said this means the jaw joint is getting worse. It was already not great, but the sound got even louderㅎㅎ............ damn 2. Sagging skin -> I don’t have it now, but lately it seems like there’s a little sagging on the side of the nasolabial area? and I think a bit of double chin has formed. It’s only at a level that I notice, but I think I’ll need to manage it well with laser treatment. No matter how little they remove, it seems like sagging still happens. 3. Hollow cheeks I already had hollow cheeks, but after surgery they got worse. A friend even asked me why that area looked like that...ㅋㅋ
Still, I’m satisfied with the surgery enough to accept all the side effects! Would I do it again if I went back? That one is a bit hard to say. I still have some of the cheekbone and broad-face feeling left, but overall I’m fairly satisfied~
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This review is a surgical review pursuing a natural look.