Since middle school, whenever I went for dental checkups, I had been told I was a candidate for jaw surgery. But back then, because it was widely seen as a dangerous operation, I was scared and couldn’t even think about surgery while I was a student.. After I became a university student, I started becoming interested in my appearance and thought I wanted to get orthodontic treatment, but every time I went to the dentist for a consultation, they said it was a jaw surgery case, and I heard that doing orthodontics alone could actually have a negative effect aesthetically, so I kept worrying about it for years
After I got a job, the more I found myself in environments where I met new people more often, such as at work or on dates, the more I realized that I was paying far more attention to my teeth and jaw than I had thought, and that my confidence in that area was low. At first, because surgery felt burdensome, I wanted to improve things with orthodontics alone and searched a lot and visited several dental clinics for consultations, but with the exception of one place, I was diagnosed as a surgical case everywhere, so after 5–6 years of serious consideration I decided on surgery. (If you count from middle school, it was over 10 years of worrying)
After deciding on surgery, I searched a lot on YouTube, various apps, Naver cafes, and read many reviews. I came to think that the surgery absolutely had to be done at an oral and maxillofacial surgery dental clinic, and I started searching mainly for hospitals where orthodontic collaboration was possible. After that, I went to consultations at several hospitals in person, and my meeting with Director Lee Seok-jae at Y Oral Surgery was what drew me in the most and led me to choose the hospital. His confidence in the surgery, accurate diagnosis, precise explanation of the surgical method and process, short recovery period, kind manager, and the clean internal environment of the hospital all appealed to me in different ways.
I am currently working as a nurse at a university hospital, so I was very worried about whether I would have difficulty returning to work after surgery. The short recovery period was a major factor in deciding on the operation, and the manager also gave me a lot of consideration, helping me coordinate the surgical schedule over a long period of time and responding well to my messages, so I was able to set the surgery date comfortably. Because I had to coordinate with work and my schedule, I kept changing the date and asking questions and sometimes went a long time without contacting them, but they still responded kindly, so I was able to book the date I wanted.
[Before surgery] I fasted, including water, from midnight the night before surgery to prepare. After reading many reviews, I packed only the basic items needed for hospitalization. I only prepared the minimum because I was worried it would be hard when I got discharged. (Cotton swabs, towel, mirror, socks, tissues, hair tie, etc.) For reference, the hospital took care of everything so carefully from A to Z that the things I personally brought were never even taken out, that was the best,, I also prepared drinks, New Care, and other things to have at home after discharge, and went in to be admitted on the day of surgery.
[Day of surgery] I had never had a surgery under general anesthesia before, and in my work environment I always saw surgical patients, so honestly I wasn’t that nervous or scared.. I arrived around 9:30 a.m., changed into a patient gown, and had another pre-op consultation with Director Lee Seok-jae. It was nice to be able to talk in detail once more about the surgical plan and the direction I wanted. After waiting, I went in for anesthesia a little after 10 a.m. At that point I was a little nervous But I didn’t even have time to stay tense, because I fell asleep as soon as the anesthetic went in, and when I opened my eyes around 2:30 p.m., the surgery was over and I was back in the ward. The director came personally and told me the surgery had gone well, which reassured me. I was a case where I had the surgery and was discharged alone, without a guardian. Right after surgery, it is important not to fall asleep and to breathe deeply so that the anesthesia can fully wear off, but since I had no guardian I kept dozing off against my own will. The nurse in charge kept coming by, waking me up, and encouraging deep breathing, so thanks to that I was able to come out of anesthesia well. They carefully cared for me with things like drinking water, deep breathing, suction, and pain control, so even being alone there were no difficult or uncomfortable parts at all. When I read reviews, breathing and pain were often mentioned as the hardest parts, so those were what I worried about the most. But since I didn’t have intermaxillary fixation, breathing was really comfortable, and the pain was also manageable because the patient-controlled analgesia device was connected and the nurses handled pain control frequently, so it wasn’t too hard. Of course, you can get a fever after surgery, but maybe because I wasn’t good at deep breathing, my temperature rose a bit, and that part was somewhat difficult. When I had chills, the nurse gave me an electric blanket and helped me stay warm a lot, and at night they checked my temperature frequently, gave me injectable fever medicine, and were truly so kind and grateful.
[Post-op day 2] In the morning, the nurse removed my urinary catheter. Removing it can feel uncomfortable, but it doesn’t hurt. After that, the director came and removed the tube in my nose. I was worried that breathing would become uncomfortable after the tube was taken out, but the nurse reassured me that it wouldn’t, which was nice. Removing the tube in the nose doesn’t hurt at all. They also remove the drain tube in the mouth, and that also doesn’t hurt. It’s just a little uncomfortable because of the foreign-body sensation. After that, I got swelling laser treatment, put in the wafer, and was taught how to align the bite. At first the wafer felt stuffy, so I asked whether I could skip it because I wanted to take it out, but they explained it was a necessary part of the process, so I put up with it and did it. It’s fine once you get used to it. From that day on, I started walking for exercise and could also drink New Care. I was hungry, so it tasted like heaven.. The next day was a public holiday,, so in the evening the manager picked up my discharge medication in advance and the pharmacist also explained the discharge medication to me. At night the fever rose again, which was hard, but the nurses kept changing my ice pack, gave me injectable fever medicine, and took care of me, so it wasn’t too difficult.. Even though I called many times, they kindly took care of me, and I’m truly grateful Since I was able to walk, I tried to go to the station and speak in person whenever possible, but when it was really hard I used the call bell,, and otherwise they responded well even when I went out to tell them. Angel nurses,,
[Post-op day 3] It was discharge day, and my guardian came to pick me up so I was discharged together. In the morning I saw the director once more before discharge and talked again about the part that had been hard because of the fever. I was told it was okay to take an additional antipyretic between the discharge medications, so afterward I bought additional fever medicine at the pharmacy and took it.
[After that] Until discharge, the swelling wasn’t severe, but it reached its maximum on days 5–6, and at that time there was severe tenderness in my face. After discharge I had a fever every night, so that part was a bit hard, and I had trouble taking powder medicine or pills, so I bought children’s Bruffen syrup and took it, and it worked well. The dizziness wasn’t severe either, and the pain was bearable, plus the discharge medication included painkillers, so it was okay. Brown, sticky bloody nasal discharge and mucus kept coming out, and since I couldn’t blow my nose it felt stuffy, and I couldn’t sleep lying flat, so my lower back hurt a lot Make sure to prepare a backrest cushion,,
I had a follow-up visit at one week. After swelling laser treatment, I monitored the progress, disinfected the suture area once, and practiced how to put the wafer in and take it out once. From that point on, I was able to brush my teeth with a children’s toothbrush, and it felt so refreshing
I had another hospital visit at two weeks too. I got swelling laser treatment and had the stitches removed. It hurts a little. From that point on, they said to start mouth exercises, and I felt another step more refreshed. I want to get the wafer removed soon I’m scheduled to start wearing the braces from the one-month mark.
The first week after surgery was hard, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I had imagined. Lately I keep thinking that I wish I had realized earlier that this was a surgery with a good recovery and satisfying results. It is definitely a major surgery and one that should be decided very carefully, but if this is truly causing you stress and is also medically necessary for you, then based on my experience I think it may be good to make a quick decision so you can have the surgery at a trustworthy hospital.. After all, it is also true that the younger you are, the faster you recover! Thank you for reading such a long post, and I hope it helps those who are 고민한 분들!