I had regular jaw-joint pain because of malocclusion and asymmetry of the temporomandibular joints, and my receding chin was also fairly severe. At first, I tried to solve it with orthodontic treatment alone. However, after hearing that orthodontics alone would be difficult, I deliberated and decided on double-jaw surgery.
After looking into several hospitals, I chose [Clinic A]. From my first visit, the desk staff, nurses, and coordinator were all very kind, which gave me a good first impression. Most impressive was the surgeon's consultation. The surgeon clearly explained what was possible and what would be difficult, without being vague, which made me trust them. The surgical method and expected changes were explained in a very easy-to-understand way, and the surgeon's confidence made me feel I could entrust myself to them.
Personally, the first day after surgery was the hardest. After general anesthesia, I had to keep coughing up anesthetic medication and phlegm, so I could not sleep properly. I was extremely sleepy, but staying awake while paying attention to my breathing was difficult. I had barely eaten anything and even experienced symptoms of orthostatic hypotension, so I was very grateful that the nurse in charge kept checking on and caring for me for several hours.
Fortunately, the surgery ended much sooner than expected, and there was not much bleeding. I naturally swell easily, so swelling was my biggest concern, but I swelled much less than expected and barely bruised. As I watched my recovery, I increasingly felt that the surgeon's technique was excellent.
During recovery, I tried to eat as well as possible and move around a lot. Many people say they lose weight after double-jaw surgery because they cannot eat, but I blended every food I could eat and made sure to consume it. I thought nutrition was important for recovery, so I actually ate more diligently than usual, and hardly lost any weight. From about one week onward, I took regular walks according to my condition, probably around 5,000–7,000 steps a day. When I visited to have the stitches removed, they also told me that the swelling had gone down a great deal. Other than the inconvenience of eating, I did not have the severe pain I had expected.
The areas I was most concerned about aesthetically were my receding chin and mentalis muscle. Because of my receding chin, I had a habit of tensing my chin whenever I closed my mouth, and after living that way for a long time, the mentalis muscle had become quite developed. This was very stressful visually. During the consultation, I was told that surgery alone could not completely eliminate the muscle but could improve it sufficiently. Now that my receding chin has improved considerably, I also tense my chin much less when closing my mouth, so I am very satisfied with the result. If necessary, I plan to combine it with chin Botox in the future and gradually reduce the muscle as well.
At first, my main goal was functional improvement of the malocclusion and temporomandibular-joint problems. In the end, the aesthetic aspects, such as facial balance and the receding chin, improved too, so I feel as if I caught two birds with one stone. I am extremely satisfied that they followed my request for a natural result without making major changes so well.
However, double-jaw surgery is absolutely not a minor procedure, and especially the first week after surgery can be very difficult, so I recommend preparing yourself mentally and deciding only after careful consideration. Still, if you have both functional problems and aesthetic concerns like I did, it may be worthwhile to receive a thorough consultation and make a careful decision. I am very satisfied with my current result and deeply grateful to the medical staff.