Pre-op <before surgery>before and after <after surgery>after Hello
I underwent orthognathic surgery + contouring procedures 2 types (square jaw and chin) for malocclusion (where the upper and lower teeth bite together in reverse) at a maxillofacial surgery clinic.
Honestly, I thought orthognathic surgery was too risky, and the cost was also quite high, so I had not considered it at all. So at first I went to three orthodontic dental clinics hoping to correct only my bite with orthodontics, but only after hearing from all of them that mine was a surgical case and that orthodontics alone would not improve it at all did I decide to go ahead with orthognathic surgery. I felt that even if I did not do it right away, I would probably still want to have it done as I got older, and I thought if I was going to do it, it would be better to do it as soon as possible, so I decided to have the surgery.
I had heard from people around me that orthognathic surgery should be done at an oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic, so I thought the surgery should definitely be done there. After looking into several places, I watched Dr. Lee Seok-jae’s videos on YouTube and something just clicked, so I went to the clinic for my first consultation. At first, since it was such a major surgery, I thought I should get consultations from several places before deciding, but I liked the consultation at the clinic I first visited, so I made a reservation right away, started presurgical orthodontics first, and after about 5 months of orthodontic treatment I had the surgery.
Day of surgery I arrived at the hospital in the morning, changed clothes in the inpatient room, listened to the director and the doctor explain the surgery, finished preparing for surgery, and then went in right away. As soon as I came to after the surgery, I was just so sleepy, and my face felt painful somehow, and because all sorts of things were attached to my body, I was completely out of it. First of all, my throat was really dryㅠㅠ My nose was completely blocked so I had to breathe through my mouth, but my throat was seriously, seriously dry. I was also unbelievably sleepy because of the anesthesia, but I could not sleep, so time passed so slowly.... My guardian came with me, so whenever I dozed off my mom would wake me up and keep talking to me so I would not fall asleep, and I think that helped me win the battle against sleep a little. After my guardian went home, the only people I could rely on were the nurses, and I was so grateful because everyone was so kind and took such good care of me...! But strangely, the anesthesia made me unable to sleep for 6 hours, and before that I had been extremely sleepy, but once 6 hours passed I no longer felt sleepyㅠㅠ On that day I was so uncomfortable that I could not sleep at all. I just kept waiting for time to pass quickly... On the day of surgery, it was the hardest day after the operation, to the point that I had no energy to watch media videos or even talk with my guardian.
Day 2 On the second day, they removed the drain and the urinary catheter, so I spent the night just waiting for that...! Early in the morning the nurse removed my catheter, and the director removed the drain, and once those were out I felt so much better...! I could get up and walk around, and my mind started to clear little by little. I think I spent the second day wiping away runny nose and saliva without even realizing it...ㅎㅎ Without realizing it, saliva and snot kept drippingㅠㅠ On the second day they also gave me New Care to drink, but I could only manage a very small amount. I was not hungry and did not really want to eat anything. I was still overwhelmed and exhausted, but I held on thinking that tomorrow would be discharge day. On the second day, I did still sleep more than I expected, and compared with the first day I slept quite well.
Day 3 As I endured with the thought of wanting to go home, discharge day finally arrived. Early in the morning I had swelling care, had the IV removed, changed clothes, saw the doctor, got my prescription, and was discharged right away. By the time I was discharged, my face was really puffed upㅎㅎ Even I felt awkward looking at my own face... After leaving the hospital, I got my medicine from the pharmacy downstairs and went straight home. I live in the provinces, so it took a while, but I had no energy and honestly all I could think was that I wanted to go home quickly. Still, once I got home I felt a little betterㅠㅠ I wanted to shower and I was hungry, and I think I showered as soon as I got home. Before the surgery I wondered if I would have to go to a hair salon and wash my hair after surgery, but I was able to wash by myself just fine. Of course, it took a whileㅎㅎ After showering, I drank some New Care, took my medicine, and sat down to rest. It was hard, but I felt that the pain was gradually getting better.
Days 4-7 From the time I got home after discharge, the facial swelling increased a lot. I felt tenderness, and on some nights I think I even had a bit of a fever. I was still constantly getting runny nose, so I lived at home while keeping gauze on. I spent almost the entire day in a massage chair, and sleeping was uncomfortable so I could not really sleep well. What was most painful of all was that I could not brush my teeth, so bad breath was extremely miserableㅠㅠ Even though I said I rinsed well, the smell from what was probably scab material or something was so bad that I did not even want to drink New Care or waterㅠㅠ Still, I had to take my medicine, so it was hard to keep up with three meals a dayㅠㅠ I kept using the compression band and hot compresses too. Since my face was so swollen, the compression band also felt a bit overwhelmingㅠㅠ So when it was too hard, I just took it off. My nose seemed to open up faster than I expected. I only used the prescribed Otrivin once or twice! I felt it opening little by little over time, so I did not use Otrivin much. I started walking on day 5. Since I still could not eat properly, I only walked slowly for about 15 to 20 minutes. Still, it was nice to go outside, feel the breeze, and walk...! My facial swelling seemed to peak on days 4 to 5! I only had bruising around the chin area (jawline), but it quickly moved down to my neck before long. I still had tenderness and not much energy, so it was hard, but I think I just endured it while waiting for the first follow-up after surgery..!
Days 8-14 After my first follow-up visit after surgery, once I could remove the wafer when eating and brushing my teeth, and once brushing became possible, I really felt like I could live again. (Tongue cleaner, highly recommended..) From then on I could drink New Care smoothly, and I consistently walked for 30 minutes each time. My face was still quite swollen, but the lip swelling went down a bit, so my lips could close and I drooled less. My nose also cleared up, so although sleeping while sitting was uncomfortable, I think I slept for longer stretches. What made me feel like I could live again was that I really wanted spicy foods rather than just liquid mealsㅎㅎ Now that I had more energy, the first thing on my mind was eating.. I think I just kept waiting for the day to remove the stitches. It really hurt if I laughed wrong or touched the area while brushing... So each day I walked and used hot compresses, waiting for the swelling to go down! Once the pain eased a little, time passed quickly too.
Days 15-21 I had my stitches removed on day 17. Stitch removal hurt... I teared up a little.. Still, once the stitches were removed, I was so happy! Maybe it was just my imagination, but after the stitches came out, the swelling seemed to go down better tooㅎㅎ My face is still quite puffy..ㅎㅎ It really does seem to go down little by little each day! I am not especially thin, so the swelling was probably more pronounced, and it did not seem to go down quickly either! So I tried to focus on swelling care! Also, washing my face was cautious, and after surgery my skin got much worse. It got very oily, and the sebum was no joke, so I was worried, but little by little my skin seemed to return to its original state! (Oil blotting paper is recommended!ㅎㅎ) From the day the stitches were removed, I ate porridge from Bonjuk, blended as finely as possible! Who would have thought porridge could make me so happy to eat..! I ate the porridge along with drinks, and things like cake soaked in milk and swallowed them down! As expected, people gain strength when they eat!! I think it is good to eat what you want as long as you can swallow it without strain! I think that helps recovery too!
Days 22-28 During the third week, I cut anything I wanted to eat into small pieces with scissors and swallowed them down happily! My facial swelling had gone down compared with the second week, but I would not say there was a dramatic difference! It is still full of swelling...ㅎㅎ I am worried because it does not seem to be going down well, but when I read other people’s reviews, I saw so many posts saying not to rush and to wait because it will go down, so I am trying to trust that time is the medicine and wait! I am still going for walks regularly! By now the tenderness is almost gone, and taking medicine used to be hard, but I finished all my medicine, and the only uncomfortable things left are swelling in the mouth, not being able to chew, and not being able to speak well. Even without the wafer, my speech is still not very clear. I should be doing mouth exercises hard, but honestly I do not think I did them enough..! I resolved to really do them diligently starting next weekㅠㅠ Even during the third week, I was still using hot compresses, and I hardly wore the compression band at all..!
Days 29-32 During the fourth week too, I still cut up all the foods I wanted to eat with scissors and swallowed them. Brushing my teeth is no longer difficult! Rinsing with water in my mouth and gargling is no problem either...! My condition and body have recovered to how they were before surgery. I can fully go about daily life again! The only things left are that I still cannot chew and I still cannot speak well because of the waferㅠㅠㅠ It seems like the facial swelling is gradually going down! It has not dramatically vanished, but I can feel it going down day by day! The swelling under the nose, the front cheeks, and the sides of the jaw seem to be the slowest to go down. My jawline is still faint.. I still do not think I can go out without a maskㅎㅎ But the really amazing thing is that I am now in normal occlusion and no longer have a prognathic jaw, which feels so, so strange. I want the swelling to go down faster so I can go out without a maskㅎㅎㅎ I have not even gone for my one-month follow-up yet, and all I can think about is wanting to go to the clinic soon and stop wearing the waferㅎㅎ I am still walking and using hot compresses! And I am working hard on mouth exercises, and it definitely feels like doing hot compresses together makes my jaw less stiff! I feel like my mouth should open wide right away, but that is not the case. Still, I think it is gradually opening more as I keep doing mouth exercises. Doing mouth exercises also seems to help the swelling inside my mouth go down and makes my mouth move more naturally! I am now diligently doing mouth exercises even for the orthodontic treatment!
One-month post-op follow-up Finally, a month has passed since surgery and I went in for my follow-up! I went to the hospital, had an X-ray, heard what the doctor had to say, and had my orthodontic treatment. They said the bones had fused well and that everything was progressing without problems, so I was relieved..! They said that from today I can chew soft foods with the texture of cooked rice. But chewing is not as easy as I thought it would be; I guess it will get better over time!ㅎㅎ And I was so happy when they said I do not have to wear the wafer anymore!!ㅎㅎㅎ There is still a lot of swelling left and there is still a long way to go in recovery, but I will keep taking good care of myself and get through itㅎㅎ
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This review is a post-op review pursuing natural beauty.