45-degree cheekbone reduction + brow bone shaving + forehead reduction + paranasal augmentation + dissolving facial filler
I went into surgery at 11. The forehead reduction was done under sedation, and the rest under general anesthesia. I woke up at 6:30. But as soon as I woke up, the right side of my face was much more swollen than the left, so I couldn’t open my eye. Something kept going gulp-gulp down the back of my throat, and watery nosebleeds kept flowing, so I went back into the operating room. They did some kind of procedure again under sedation… I don’t know what exactly they did, but according to the doctors, because of my blood pressure, blood had pooled or something had filled up (I’m not sure what), so they took me back to the operating room to check, and they said it was resolved well. They said they did it right away because it would have been bad if I had just been discharged and then a real problem occurred. When I lay back down on the operating table, I was so damn scared my whole body was shaking, but I just said… please take good care of me, trusted them, and lay down again. When I opened my eyes again, another hour had passed, and this time I could feel that my right eye was opening about the same as the left. The recovery room nurse and my coordinator came even though it was past their time to leave work, asked if I was okay, and since I probably couldn’t go to the pharmacy to get my medication, the coordinator said she would go for me. She took the card from my locker, picked up my medication, and put everything back neatly for me. The nurse kept asking me frequently if anything was uncomfortable, and when I said I felt nauseous, she said she would give me an injection to calm it down and left. The coordinator came back then, and since I didn’t have a guardian with me, she said if I could get up now, she would support me on her way out, and asked if I wanted to go now. But I had to get the injection, so I told her to go first, and I stayed in the recovery room for about another hour before leaving.
The nurse sat me up on the bed and explained in detail the posture and method for how to sniff in nasal discharge after cheekbone surgery (absolutely do not blow your nose. You have to sniff it in). Before I left, she also took my phone, scanned a QR code, and told me to watch the recorded video on how to sniff through the nose and make sure to do it often. I was so grateful, and grateful just to be alive, so I hugged her, and she hugged me back too..
I booked an Airbnb nearby because I plan to go back and forth to the hospital for 2 weeks. So this is a same-day review I’m writing 2-3 hours after getting to the accommodation…
Maybe because of the medication I got at the hospital, I don’t really know if it hurts yet, but my forehead area feels like it’s throbbing and almost hurting. And my mouth opens more than I expected. About one finger? I thought even that much wouldn’t open lolololol
Oh, and what hurts more than the surgical sites is my throat. They said my vocal cords could be injured or I could have throat pain from the general anesthesia, and honestly it hurts a bit^^ What it feels like is, you know the area between your throat and nasal cavity when you have pharyngitis? Near the uvula. That area feels scratchy, like I have a really severe sore throat/cold.
They said my mouth would be very dry, so I came prepared with a mini humidifier, a bucket hat for a big head, and an extra-large mask, but everyone…. none of them fit. My forehead is wrapped in a bandage, gauze is placed over the surgical-site taping, and I have the compression band on. I tried to put on the hat before going out, but the hat wouldn’t go on…… I seriously ordered and bought a hat specifically for big heads from Coupang!!!! If I hadn’t worn a zip-up hoodie, I would have ended up walking the night streets of Nonhyeon looking like a monster.
I roughly perched the hat on, roughly perched the mask on, covered myself with the zip-up hoodie, barely got into a taxi, and came to the accommodation….. Still, people would be chatting, then go quiet when they passed by me. haha Whatever, what are they going to do? Once my swelling goes down, they won’t even recognize me. Oh, and I haven’t used the humidifier yet. It’s not as dry as I expected. Maybe because I had a nosebleed.
They said that because blood or nasal discharge could collect and cause inflammation, I should frequently bend my head 90 degrees, tuck my chin, look downward, and alternately block each nostril while sniffing in through the nose, and do that often for a month, right? They said it’s okay to bend my head down then. But maybe because of that, every time I do it, my nosebleed starts. I dunno~ I’m doing it because they told me to, and I’ll go ask tomorrow. They said nosebleeds can happen for 2-3 days.
This is what I think. Whether it’s the hospital doctor, nurses, or coordinator, how many patients must they meet in a day? They do their best, but sometimes things may not go well.. (Of course all of us would hope that won’t be me.) But if something like that happens, their attitude of somehow taking responsibility and trying to restore things…? Just seeing that, even though I lay on the operating table twice today, I didn’t get angry. But one thing I felt was disappointing was that I wish they had told me exactly what was going on.. But I guess they were worried I would get anxious, angry, and make a fuss. There was another patient in the bed next to me too. Still, thankfully it became the same as the left side again, so I’m okay.
Oh, but my face is seriously soooooooo damn swollen. Guys. I’m 162 cm and weigh 43 kg, you know? I don’t have much facial fat, and I have double eyelids, but what my face looks like now is like my face alone got beaten to hell in a UFC match.
I had gotten a really excessive amount of filler in my lips before and ended up with duck lips, right? I begged them to please dissolve it all cleanly, so maybe that’s why my lips are also extremely swollen now.. Honestly, being alone at the accommodation is a little scary, but even if someone came in here, they’d see my face, get startled, and run away. They said I have to keep the forehead bandage on until day 2, so right now I’m very stylishly wearing a bandage and facial taping. My eyes are half closed too. And in the middle of all this, the fact that I’m writing a post in this community is legendary.
Honestly, when I looked in the mirror earlier, I regretted it too. Why did I do this.. I must be crazy. Everyone told me not to do it. But now I’m not sure. My face had a lot of contour irregularity, and I’d heard so many times that I looked intense that it didn’t even affect me anymore. Some people said I looked like the singer Ali. Of course Ali is beautiful too, but it was far from the look I wanted, so that stressed me out a bit. In the end, even if everyone says you’re already pretty, don’t do it, if I’m stressed, I realized I have to do it. Even if I went back to this morning again, I think I’d lie on the operating table. And I really hope it turns out well. I have no choice but to trust.
That’s it for the same-day review. I’ll post reviews from time to time going forward!
Oh, and as for hospital satisfaction, for now I’d give it 9 out of 10. There was an unavoidable issue, but the doctor’s and nurse’s response was good. I have to go to the hospital several times over the next two weeks, and I’ll write reviews each time and leave that day’s score lol
P.S- People who have had general anesthesia will know, but it’s hard to urinate. Your abdomen feels bloated and it feels like you need to pee, but once you actually sit on the toilet, urine won’t come out. Everyone, brace yourselves.. your body swells up like crazy. Wear comfortable clothes.
This is a surgical review pursuing natural beauty.