before<before>before<before>before<before>after<after>after<after>after<after>I had been under a lot of stress because of my prognathic jaw, and it was really stressful and hard when my friends teased me by calling me "jutktoetol," so I had always wanted to have surgery someday, but for various complicated reasons like cost and time, I couldn’t make up my mind. This time, I gathered my courage and went ahead with the surgery I had a classic prognathic jaw case, and at first I went to a dental clinic wondering, "Could they align my bite with orthodontic treatment?" But the director said it would be difficult with orthodontics alone, so I went ahead with double jaw surgery without orthodontic treatment. I heard that some people have their wisdom teeth removed during surgery, but I had already had all four wisdom teeth extracted beforehand, so I didn’t have any extractions during surgery. As you all know, choosing the hospital is the most important part of double jaw surgery, right? I looked up many reviews on YouTube, on the internet, and in various communities, and ultimately chose Y Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. My own criteria were, first, that it had to be an oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic, and second, how much experience the director had. The biggest reason I chose Y Oral was that, from watching YouTube, I liked how the director honestly explained the surgical process and the difficult parts, and above all, they only perform one surgery a day, which I really liked. Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem even if they did several surgeries a day, but people tend to feel uneasy if they end up being scheduled late in the day, right? But I really liked that Y does only one surgery a day, so in the end I chose double jaw surgery and contouring surgery 2 types (square jaw, chin) at Y.
(First consultation to before surgery) There was about a 3-week period. When I first went for the consultation, the nurses were so, so kind while explaining everything. The director also explained things, and although the nurse had said the director was blunt, they cracked jokes too, eased my nerves, and made the consultation enjoyable. That day I had a wafer mold taken and went through several tests, and I was told to fast after 12 o’clock the night before surgery and to avoid smoking and drinking from one week before, along with other instructions, then went home. On the day of surgery, before leaving, I packed the recommended sauce container, tissue paper, charger, sleep socks, liquid meals, pumpkin juice, and so on that I had seen recommended in many reviews, and headed to the hospital. I had been fine until the day before, but once the actual surgery day arrived, I got really nervous
(Day 1 after surgery) The surgery was at 10, so I went in at 9:30, changed into a patient gown, and was waiting when the surgery time finally came. I met the director and went into the operating room, extremely nervous, but as soon as the anesthetic went in, I fell asleep right away. And when I woke up after the surgery, I was so out of it that I barely heard the nurses telling me not to sleep, and time passed in a daze. Once I felt a little better, I realized breathing was extremely uncomfortable. I had only heard about it, but I was thinking, "So this is what it’s like to be this hard." Still, the nurses and director kept coming by to check on me, and I gradually improved. With double jaw surgery, you hardly feel pain; what was really hard was that blood and phlegm mixed together and stuck to my throat, and my nose was blocked because of the blood, so I couldn’t breathe properly. The nosebleeds kept coming, and breathing through my mouth made my throat dry and raw. At night, when I tried to sleep, I’d sleep for 30 minutes, wake up for 20 minutes, and repeat that over and over, which was truly, truly exhausting. But the director told me that if I just got through the day of surgery well, it would get easier day by day, so I steadied myself and endured it. On the first day, I couldn’t move even one step from the hospital bed, and you might wonder, "Then what about the bathroom?" but I had a urinary catheter attached, so it wasn’t a big problem. They said they would remove the catheter the next morning. Anyway, the day that felt like it would never end passed, and finally the day itself was over.
(Day 2 after surgery) Around 8 in the morning, they finally removed the urinary catheter. Some people said it hurt, but I was fine. Then at 9, after the tube was removed, I received laser treatment to reduce swelling. The tube was the one connected inside my mouth to drain blood, and the director removed it. Next, they showed me how to align my bite with the wafer. Since the urinary catheter was removed, I could now use the bathroom and walk around, and the nurses said that taking light walks helps reduce swelling, so I remember walking a little at a time, several times. For sure, once a day had passed, even breathing felt somewhat easier and I felt like I could live again. This was when I started drinking New Care, and wow, it was so delicious. I really thought, "I feel alive again." From then on, I also had to gargle, so I did that too. At first I couldn’t do it properly and spilled everything, but I gradually got the hang of it and was able to do it easily. Before going to sleep that evening, the nurse kept changing my hot and cold packs, explained the discharge instructions for the next day, and even took the prescription to the pharmacy herself, exchanged it, and brought the medicine back to my room, which was really touching. Anyway, that ended day 1.
(Days 3 to 7 after surgery) On day 3, I met the director, then after discharge I rode home in my parents’ car. My face had swollen so much it looked like Dooly. From then on I had to take my medication myself, so I was eating four times a day, and the director said I should eat whatever I could because recovery would be faster that way, so I did. At each meal I drank New Care or two packs of pumpkin juice, and after that I took the pills in three separate rounds. At first it was hard to swallow. Also, after eating anything, I gargled with Hexamedine for disinfection. I kept wearing the facial compression garment except when sleeping and eating, and I kept doing hot and cold packs frequently. Until day 5 the swelling kept increasing, but from day 6 onward it visibly went down day by day, which was amazing. I also walked a lot, and although breathing was a little hard while walking with a mask on, I walked hard to reduce the swelling. When sleeping, I stacked three pillows and slept like that. Maybe because of the swelling, my nose was blocked, and I still had to breathe through my mouth, so I slept that way. The swelling was still there, but when I looked in the mirror I could clearly see my jaw had moved back, which was both amazing and really satisfying. I also only drank New Care and pumpkin juice until day 7, but other people were eating things like congee after completely blending them. Since New Care suited my taste well, I was able to drink it without any issues up to day 7. Also, on day 6 I went to the hospital for disinfection and laser treatment, and the disinfection stung a bit, enough to bring a few tears to my eyes... The director said it’s usually a little painful. Anyway, that finished week 1.
(Week 2 after surgery) From week 2, I started eating blended congee. I ate it with oden broth or egg soup and it was absolutely delicious. After that, I didn’t even look at New Care anymore.. From then on, the swelling started dropping fast. Day by day, it was noticeable. Because the swelling went down, the nasal congestion also disappeared, so I reduced my pillows to two and spent the days taking lots of naps. It really did get easier to get through each day as time passed. I kept doing hot and cold packs and wearing the compression garment often, and I continued going on walks regularly. Also, that week I went to the hospital and had my stitches removed. After reading many reviews, some said removing stitches felt like the skin was tearing, while others said there was no pain at all, so I was nervous when I went, but it was less painful than I expected, about the same as the disinfection in week 1? Even then, only the stitches around the philtrum felt that way; the other areas felt like nothing at all. After that, I went to the hospital and spent time at home being cared for by my parents. That finished week 2.
(Weeks 3 to 4 after surgery) This is my current situation as I write this. First of all, the swelling has gone down so much it’s almost unrecognizable, and I think it’s down by about 70%? If you look from the side, the jaw has really moved back a lot, and I’m so satisfied. I really think I made the right choice by having surgery. I’m still consistently doing walks, hot and cold packs, and wearing the compression garment, and these days I’m eating rice mixed into soup. I also eat castella soaked in milk and broken into small pieces, and it’s really delicious. Highly recommend! Overall, life hasn’t changed much from week 2. Since it’s winter and I want to focus only on recovery, I think I stay home except when I go out for walks, and sometimes when I go out with my family. I’ll be going to the clinic soon for my 1-month follow-up, and I think I’ll start forehead correction then. After a lot of deliberation, I found Y, but after the consultation I decided on the surgery right there and then. It was that trustworthy, and I felt like there was nowhere else to go, which is probably why I made the decision. If anyone is reading this post because they’re considering double jaw surgery, I think this would be a choice you won’t regret. That said, rather than deciding on surgery impulsively, I hope you make the decision after careful thought, and I also hope you find the courage to do it I’ll wrap up my review up to week 4 here. See you next time.
This review is a surgery review that pursues a natural look.