It’s been over 10 years now since I had facial contouring surgery. I remember having it around November 2013. I debated a lot about whether to post this on the side effects board. Compared with other cases posted here, I feel like mine is on the milder side. But even 10 years later, seeing myself still coming in and out of this community, wondering whether I should get reconstruction or a procedure, made me think it would be better for people to know even the minor side effects before getting surgery, so I’m posting this.
I had two types of facial contouring: zygoma reduction and mandibular angle reduction below the ears. There were various reasons, but... I was hurt when someone covered the outline of my face with their hand and said to my face, “If you only look at it like this, it’s okay~,” and when I heard that someone had laughed while saying, “The pentagonal face shape really stands out.” I think that’s when I started thinking about surgery.
They aren’t side effects like severe sensory abnormalities or loss of function, but I’ll talk about the discomfort I still feel 10 years after surgery.
1. My right cheekbone rattles. When my immunity drops, sinusitis develops only on the right side of my nose. I don’t know whether the plate isn’t fixed properly or the bone isn’t fixed properly, but when I touch it while washing my face or applying lotion, it rattles. I haven’t had the pins removed because of the burden of having to open my face again and the possibility that it could sag even more than it does now. Feeling awkward at the dentist is a bonus.
2. When I open my mouth wide, the bone under one cheekbone (in front of the ear) protrudes. I don’t know why this happens. I haven’t seen this symptom in other reviews either, so I don’t know if it’s just me. Anyway, one side doesn’t protrude and only one side does. I don’t think it’s noticeable when I talk normally.
3. The clumped scar tissue inside my mouth bothers me, and because of it my pronunciation has gotten worse. My pronunciation used to be good enough that people told me I should become an announcer or voice actor, but things I used to pronounce comfortably don’t come out well anymore. There’s an area where the scar tissue inside my mouth feels tightly pulled, and it bothers me. My mouth also often gets dry, or saliva pools up unnecessarily. And maybe because of the tube? they put in my mouth during surgery, or maybe because I speak with strain due to the scar tissue, my voice gets hoarse much more easily than before.
4. I have a dog-bone jaw. One side of my jaw in particular is so deeply hollowed out that I go around covering it with my hair, and for years I’ve only been gathering information on whether I should get reconstruction or not. I did try filler, but since it’s near the masseter muscle, the duration was too short. It was hard just to find a place that would inject filler there, and I was happy for about 3 to 4 months after getting it, but the cost is too much of a burden to maintain it. In the past, I used to edit photos to make my jaw smaller, but now I edit them to make it bigger.
5. Sagging, of course. My skin type is on the good side, so I thought I’d be okay, but when photos are taken from the side, my anterior cheek looks extremely sunken, and the jowls keep coming down. My nasolabial folds aren’t just expression lines anymore; as my cheeks sag, they’re being pressed down and getting deeper. I think I understand what people mean when they say the face is melting downward. Compared with friends who didn’t get facial contouring, my face is sagging more than twice as fast as normal aging. Volume is what gives the face vitality, but I don’t have that... When the skin and soft tissue can’t settle into place like this and slide downward, lasers don’t solve it... and the cost is a burden every time. Even if I spend money, it doesn’t look like natural aging. It somehow looks like unnatural aging.
Oh, if anyone here has had reconstruction, please leave a review. Whether you recommend it or don’t recommend it, I’d like to hear the details.
Everyone, I really hope you consider everything carefully for the face you’ll have for the rest of your life and make your surgical decisions very cautiously. I hope the world becomes a place where everyone can love themselves and where people don’t hurt others over the looks they were born with Let’s be happy, everyone.