Before<This is my face before surgery A front view with uneven lines that weren’t neatly defined> After<What I looked like on day 1 after surgery. A clearly flustered-looking mess to anyone who saw me> After<This is my one-month post-op look. I also had other procedures at the same time, and the swelling was fairly severe, so there is still significant swelling left, but the lines are definitely more defined> Before<Side view before surgery> After<1 month after surgery!> As of today, it has been 41 days since my contouring, revision eye surgery, revision nose surgery, and fat grafting. I spent that whole time having such a hard time because of the swelling There were long stretches when I regretted having so many procedures, because the recovery period was so long.. After surgery, the bruising and swelling were so bad that I couldn’t even see my baby because I was afraid she would be shocked (I’m a mom of a 19-month-old baby) Being away from my baby for so long was mentally tough.
You may wonder why I would even choose surgery after getting married and having a child, and you may also wonder why I had so many procedures all at once. I’ve been the type to care a lot about my appearance since I was young. I was obsessed with having a pretty face, and whenever I saw pretty people on social media, my self-esteem would drop, and I would always look in the mirror and sigh, and cover everything with thick, heavy makeup. Even after marriage, that habit continued, and as I went through postpartum depression too, my self-esteem just kept falling lower and lower.
To be honest, I wasn’t extremely ugly or a face with major problems (though I was unhappy with it). I was told so many times by people around me, "I don’t understand why you’d get plastic surgery, don’t do it," but even so, my desire to eliminate my complex was so strong that I made the decision to have surgery with my husband’s consent, after getting through everything I’m dealing with now. I chose it purely for my own satisfaction and quality of life.
And since I was young, I searched through so many cafes and sites to get plastic surgery information. It wasn’t just a quick look to get information; I spent over five years just collecting information. I can’t even count how many times I thought, "I wish there were only one or two clinics, so I wouldn’t have to agonize and could just go get it done right away" There were that many clinics, and that many reviews everywhere.
Raising a baby in the countryside made it too hard to visit many places in person, so I think I spent far more effort researching online than going out in person. Plastic surgery cafes, beauty cafes, YouTube, complication forums, blogs, and Q&A sites, and after narrowing it down again and again, I finally made the decision by visiting in person at the end.
I’m open-minded, so hiding the fact that I had surgery doesn’t suit my personality, and I also wanted to hear things like, "I want to become like that person too, where did they get it done?" but I still have some swelling, so that would be too greedy for now. I also received a lot of information from others, so I wanted to share information with people who need it too It’s probably a small-town mindset, wanting to give everything away.. Anyway, I wanted to share information with people who are looking for contouring info the way I did, so I sat down at my computer to write down the information and even make a post in my memo app =) I’m uploading from mobile though From here on, it gets really, really long, so long-post warning!!!!!
Only my husband and baby(?) know about the surgery.. Actually, I kept it a secret from the rest of my family. Because they were so worried, saying any surgery involving bone is too dangerous, I didn’t really tell themI’m planning to tell them someday when I gather the courage. I don’t know when that someday will be, but anyway, on the day before surgery I saved a lot of photos and videos of myself. I wanted to look back and laugh at them later, and I think that was a good thing. Every day feels a little different..
- Before surgery
The day before surgery, the hospital called and told me to absolutely fast for 8 hours because of the general anesthesia. They said not to consume anything, including water, and that the only thing I was allowed to swallow was my saliva So I didn’t eat anything from the day before. I was a little nervous, so nothing would really go down=).. There are really people who eat right up until exactly 8 hours before, but I just didn’t eat at all Since I had been eating a lot of foods that require opening the mouth wide because of contouring surgery, I thought it would be fine to rest for a day or so. Before surgery, I strongly recommend eating things like meat wraps and hamburgers.. really. A lot of people after contouring say, "Ah, I should have eaten more before surgery..." but I didn’t have that regret at all
And I didn’t sleep well either I was nervous and worried all night, so I searched a ton on Naver before going to the hospital...
[ General anesthesia without sleeping] [ Sleep before surgery]
I thought there would be someone like me.. Still, I was a little worried, so I contacted the coordinator and asked, and they said it would be better to get even a little sleep on the way there, so I put all my worries aside and tried to sleep on the bus to Seoul
- Surgery day
I arrived at the hospital at 3 p.m. =) There was still plenty of time before surgery.
During that time I took photos and changed into a patient gown, and even though I had experienced this five years ago when I had eye and nose surgery, for some reason changing into the patient gown still felt embarrassing? That’s just how I am.. I talked a lot with the coordinator, looked through reviews again, and before surgery I washed my face and gargled, but the gargling liquid was really.. strange It felt salty somehow, but also not quite.. I even asked whether this was the gargling liquid they use after surgery too. But it wasn’t ugh.. Anyway, after washing up cleanly, I moved to the consultation room to have the final surgery consultation with the doctor, and since the consultation was right before the surgery that was about to begin, the fear started to build again. My heart was beating fast, and I felt like worries I didn’t even have before were starting to appear again..
When the doctor came and the consultation started, he first told me again which parts were necessary and which weren’t, and asked if I had any questions or concerns.. Since I’m the detail-oriented type, I had written down all my concerns at home, so by the end it suddenly turned into a Q&A session Still, the doctor listened until I finished speaking and answered kindly, and maybe because of that, my tense mind started to relax.
But the moment I lay down in the operating room, tension and fear rushed over me.. my hands were shaking too... When I heard, "The medicine is going in~," I counted to three in my head, and suddenly someone woke me up:) It was a nurse, and after letting me rest a little, she supported me and took me to the ward. When I got dizzy on the way and had to sit down, she waited and helped me again. So kind..
I saw in some reviews that general anesthesia can make your throat hurt, but my throat didn’t hurt at all! Instead, I was really dizzy, and I kept feeling like I might throw up Fortunately, I hadn’t eaten anything the day before, so nothing came up; still, I felt bad for kind of making things unpleasant for them.. And as soon as I regained consciousness, I opened my mouth to check I still don’t know why; it opened pretty well without discomfort, so I thought it opened a lot, but it was only about one finger’s width? And I had other procedures besides contouring, so maybe because of that, the swelling was also quite severe, but I could vividly feel a sensation like tears running over my cheekbones, and I was like, what is this? I touched my cheekbones and jaw and even scratched the skin with my nail to see if I could feel anything, and I could. I thought maybe with contouring 2 procedures, sensation is always intact? and found it fascinating on my own. Before surgery, I had prepared myself mentally for the idea that sensation would return slowly, so I was really relieved that I could feel sensation
While I was resting, the nurse kindly told me I needed to urinate in the bathroom. I said I was too dizzy to go by myself, and she supported me again and took me from the bathroom back to the ward too.. thanks.. And one review kept echoing in my head: "You fall asleep, and when you wake up, 10 minutes have passed." It was so real.. Still, I kept trying to fall asleep I’d wake up, sip some water, and go back to sleep, then drink water again and sleep again, repeating it over and over. And I think I really did a lot of ice compresses It was so cold that I wanted to throw it away if I held it directly, but if it was wrapped in gauze or a hand towel, it felt cool in a way that helped the swelling go down, so that was nice.
- The next day after surgery
After spending a day like that at the hospital, before discharge the coordinator, nurse, and doctor checked my progress. They said the surgery went well=) and that I just needed to manage the swelling properly, then explained the post-op precautions and handed me a paper bag full of things they had prepared for me, and I left the hospital! Since I live in the countryside, it seemed hard to head straight back, so I checked into a nearby hotel after 2 p.m. Because I had canthoplasty, bloody tears were flowing from my eyes.. I wiped them with tissues.. I was slumped in a chair in the hotel lobby and collapsed as soon as I got to the room, then kept falling asleep and waking up... By evening I finally came to my senses and ended up eating one banana from my bag over almost three days and I still had some left.. is that real..
At the hotel I slept sitting up with my pillow propped high, and when I woke up, I’d eat a little banana, take my medicine, gargle, turn on the TV and just listen to the sound. I was really diligent about taking my medicine and gargling so the surgical sites wouldn’t get inflamed.
- Post-op day 3 I came back to the hospital for treatment and care:) They disinfected and checked the surgical area, and it felt refreshing 흫 After treatment, the doctor checked my progress once more and asked if there were any uncomfortable areas. After talking with the doctor, my face still felt heavy, but my heart felt lighter And I also got swelling care and a hair shampoo treatment in the care room.
After surgery, it felt like a battle with swelling that I had to endure patiently on my own If I went outside looking like that, people would be shocked so I made sure to wear a hat and mask, and I definitely walked for about 30 minutes! I also did a lot of cold compresses and think I wore the compression garment almost all the time. They said liquid foods are really good after day 3, but I wasn’t especially uncomfortable and I wasn’t in pain, so I gently rolled regular food around in my mouth, and on days when I felt guilty I ate castella soaked in milk.. I avoided salty foods because I was worried they might keep the swelling from going down And gargling is really important! From day 3 onward, they said I could use a baby toothbrush, so I added brushing too.
And sleeping while sitting up is incredibly uncomfortable.. not just the head, but my tailbone really hurt If I kept looking for a way to avoid tailbone pain, I’d slowly end up lying farther and farther back in a reclined position.. As for contouring pain, it wasn’t the kind of pain where you’re like, wow I’m going to die, it hurts so much; it was just a throbbing that was bearable. The nose surgery and eye surgery were really the uncomfortable parts. Still, I didn’t buy extra painkillers to take separately
- 7 days after surgery
I think it’s true that contouring surgery only makes you suffer for 3 days Swelling slows down daily life, but compared with the first day, the swelling had gone down a lot and I could speak to some extent. Before that, my pronunciation was so slurred that I didn’t even know what I was saying and ended up laughing to myself And I visited the hospital to check my one-week progress =D The nurse praised me, saying my oral care was really good and to keep doing exactly what I was doing.. I was so happy that I took even better care of it I poured the gargling solution into a separate container and gargled frequently even outdoors, and I think that was the moment it really paid off.. I also had the stitches removed from the area that had been operated on elsewhere, got swelling care again, and finally went home for the first time after surgery!
My baby didn’t recognize my face and, after one week, had gone from being a mom’s baby to a dad’s baby. That was a little sad;..Parenting got a bit easier, but still, not being the favorite anymore
From one week onward, I stopped cold compresses and switched to warm compresses, and my husband bought like 50 packets of pumpkin juice, so I drank them, but honestly I think walking is the best thing for swelling And warm compresses seem effective too! Pumpkin juiceit was perfectly drinkable, so I drank it, but 50 was overkill, so buy a reasonable amount..
Oh, and one tip I got after surgery: Food gets stuck easily in the stitches inside the mouth.. if you try to remove it with your tongue, your mouth opens and you can feel a huge stiffness, followed by immediate regret and discomfort. Rice porridge, soup, and soy milk seem like the most stable and best choices
- Last part (current feeling at one month)
Surgery is important, but post-op care is just as important as the surgery itself. And I hope people won’t rush to decide on surgery just because they read a review saying it went well It’s a major surgery, and because it carries that level of risk, I hope people decide carefully. And as everyone already knows, surgery is truly case by case, so I think you have to judge things carefully because it’s different for each person.
Before deciding on surgery, I first looked at complication reviews in a complications forum, and I went into the surgery already accepting a certain level of risk and possible complications, so I don’t regret it.
This isn’t a post encouraging cosmetic surgery. I was desperate, had very low self-esteem, and was under a lot of stress, so I wrote this because I hoped my review might help people who spend a long time only searching and worrying. I hope you’ll understand that.
As I said at the beginning, since I’m the type of person who wants to share information just as much as I receive it, I hope that from reading my post, you got at least some sense of what contouring surgery feels like, and that it can be helpful for people who need it. And I’ll keep leaving future updates about how I keep changing!
That’s it up to day 41 after contouring! This was my honest review with nothing false.. Thank you for reading, and if you choose surgery, please be careful. Let’s all get prettier together~~!