It's been 2 weeks since I had the 3-part contouring: cheekbones, square jaw, and chin! I also wrote an early post-op review (day 6), so if you want to refer to it, you can search for it and read it. I'll try to write as much detail as possible, mainly about the things people usually wonder about: pain & aftereffects of general anesthesia / swelling & bruising / current condition.
*Pain & aftereffects of general anesthesia After the surgery, the hospital prescribed me 7 days' worth of painkillers + antibiotics. I couldn't really tell if my cheekbones hurt, but the pain in my jaw and chin was severe (it feels tingling and sharply throbbing), and it hurt the most in the morning.. I think maybe it was because it was around the time when the medication from the previous evening had completely worn off. So until day 5, I repeatedly woke up early in the morning from the pain > hurriedly made breakfast while in pain... (because I had to take the medicine... it felt a little sad) > took the medicine and fell asleep againㅋㅋㅋ Still, once I got to day 6, the pain dropped sharply. On day 7, I was fine enough that I didn't feel the painkiller effect wearing off(?)! I still made sure to take all of them regularly.
As aftereffects of general anesthesia, I had bloody phlegm and nosebleeds (my throat barely hurt by around day 3. I think this really varies by person). They say nosebleeds can be severe if you get cheekbone surgery. For me, every time I blew my nose, blood came out like jelly, and sometimes even blood clots came outㅜㅜ I spat out bloody phlegm periodically until week 1. (It comes up even when sleeping, and comes out when coughing, so tissues and a trash can next to the bed are essential.) Now in week 2, nosebleeds almost don't come out, and when I occasionally swallow nasal discharge or deliberately try to spit out phlegm, a little blood comes out mixed in. *For reference, I didn't know early on and forcefully blew my nose a bit, but they say that if you had cheekbone surgery, applying pressure is not goodㅜㅜ
*Swelling & bruising They usually say swelling is worst on days 3 to 4. I was the same... The bruising under my eyes, on my eyelids, and around my mouth was also large and severe (the degree of bruising seems to vary by person! I was already the type to bruise easily). From what I remember about the process of the swelling and bruising going down afterward (please keep in mind that swelling generally goes down from top to bottom): - Day 4: Swelling remained overall, but the double eyelid line was faintly visible > by evening, my eyes were fully open - Days 5-6: Swelling around the eyes and cheekbones went down, eyes returned to their original shape + bruises under the eyes, on the upper eyelids, and around the mouth gradually turned into darker blood bruises - Days 7-8: Swelling in the cheekbones and beside the nose went down + bruising remained the same - Days 9-10: Lip swelling went down a lot + bruising became a little faint - Day 10 to now: Most bruising disappeared / I can feel the cheek swelling gradually moving down into candy swelling
I think walks and exercise are really important until at least day 10! Every time I went out and came back, it had gone down.
*Current condition & changes Now in week 2, I'm fighting candy swelling... I still can't move my mouth well. Above my mouth and lower jaw, sensation is even on both sides and has almost all returned! My chin still feels slightly numb, as if anesthetized, but I can feel food dripping or itchiness, so I don't think I'll have any sensory issues going forward. Since the swelling is moving down toward the neck, my lower jaw feels heavy, and I don't really feel like it's going down quickly like beforeㅜㅜ Right now, I'm doing warm compresses every night, moving around often, and just waiting for the candy swelling to go down quickly. In terms of changes, I've heard so many times that my face has gotten smaller. I can feel it too... My head shape is a typical brachycephalic shape, so I didn't expect my head to look small at all, but I was even told my head shape looks smaller. Once only the candy swelling goes away, I think the exact line I wanted will come out!! I'm satisfied haha Honestly, the most painful thing right now is being hungry.... If you get cheekbone surgery, you can't eat chewy or hard foods until 4 monthsㅜ Right now my mouth doesn't even open as wide as one finger, so I eat porridge every day and crush everything before eating.. I've lost a lot of weight tooㅠㅠ I end up watching mukbangs all day. If anyone who had cheekbone surgery quite a while ago sees this, I'd appreciate it if you commented when you were able to eat somewhat normal(?) mealsㅜㅜ
Since facial contouring is major surgery, I tried my best to write this in detail for those who may have many concerns or worries...! When I was considering surgery too, I hadn't gone through it, so I was scared, and every tiny piece of information was so precious... Still, this is my subjective review, so those who have had facial contouring or are planning to have it should use it only as a reference! If you have questions or want information, I'll diligently answer as much as I know, so please leave a comment :)
Like 1