Why I Got Double Jaw Surgery: I was
self-conscious about my long and asymmetrical lower jaw. People would tell me
wasn't noticeable, but only those who have undergone double jaw surgery can
understand this frustration. My asymmetrical jaw is really noticeable to me :(
Even though I had preexisting facial asymmetry, I got double jaw surgery since
my chin was the most noticeable part of my face. I got facial contouring
surgery when I became an adult, but for some weird reason, I think my
asymmetrical jaw became more noticeable after that procedure :'( To summarize, I
underwent double jaw surgery because I wanted to stop looking older for my age
because of my long lower jaw and facial asymmetry.
Day 1
Fortunately, I wasn't in as much pain as I
expected it to be. In fact, the square jaw surgery I did in the past at a
different clinic hurt more lol, but I couldn't breathe comfortably until my
nasal cannula was removed. My back and hip hurt from sitting so much, so I
tried to walk as much as possible inside the clinic. I don't know if it's
because of the medications, but I kept vomiting even though I didn't eat
anything. The nurse who took care of me was super nice. She changed my clothes
for me and basically did anything difficult for me on my behalf...I was
sincerely grateful. The experience was very different from the clinic that did
my square jaw surgery (in a good way). I'm glad I came to EU this time around!
Day 2
Discharge day! At home, I was physically
comfortable, but mentally, I was worried every time something felt somewhat
off, lol. I had indigestion too, which was strange. Why is my stomach upset
when I had surgery on my jaw? The people at the clinic were so friendly when I
asked about it. I got better after taking the medicine! I couldn't wear the
compression band because my jaw hurt. I should start wearing it tomorrow.
Day 3
I went to the clinic to get the laser
treatment. The consultant told me to eat better meals as she thought I lost weight.
Everyone at the clinic was watching out for me, making sure I don't bump into
anything. Can't all clinics be like EU? Making sure that your surgeon is
competent and can give you the results you want is important, but so are the
clinic staff since you'll continue to receive post-op care there. I didn't
search for other double jaw surgery clinics after visiting EU because I liked
their clinic staff and vibe. In the end, I think it was a great decision to go
with EU. I also took the tape off and found the post-op swelling more
noticeable. I should go on walks more often!
Day 4
The bruises are becoming more noticeable.
Interestingly, there were none in the beginning. The throbbing pain in my right
chin completely disappeared. Is it because I got the laser treatments regularly?
I really appreciate the people at the clinic encouraging me to come in
frequently because otherwise, I would've felt like I was being a burden. I
haven't been wearing the compression band because my chin has been hurting, and
now my face is square, lol. I should wear the band more often…
Day 5
The bruising is down to my collarbone! I
wonder how much the bruising can spread?! I feel so much better today, and I'm
able to open my mouth much more. I can feel the medications working, too. It
was a struggle to swallow pills at first, but now it's a breeze. The pain's
gone, and I feel mostly back to normal, but the inside of my mouth feels tingly
and weighed down. My teeth are sore too—it's annoying!
:( It's almost as if someone put a huge rock on my tongue. Is it too early to
feel sensations again? When will the numbness go away :'(
Day 6
I went and got the laser treatment. I feel
as if I'm getting prettier, and it's relaxing to think about that while lying
down. LOL. My wafer spontaneously fell out last night, but Dr. Shin assured me
that there was nothing wrong and disinfected my mouth as well. I was scheduled
to get that done tomorrow, but since I had it done today, I can just come for
the laser treatment tomorrow. I no longer wear the compression band while I'm
out and about, and there’s no discomfort that interferes with my everyday life.
But it’s important to avoid extreme activities such as running! It's funny that
no one knows that there's a swollen face behind the mask I'm wearing because of
the COVID-19 pandemic. LOL. It stung a bit while the surgical site was being
cleaned, so I'm kind of worried about getting my stitches out. I think it
depends on the person. I'm both eagerly awaiting and wanting to avoid the
2-week post-op mark. The swelling went down considerably today since I walked a
lot yesterday. I think my face is more swollen than most others because I
didn't wear the compression band as much as I should've. I was told to wear the
compression band until tomorrow, so I should really wear it as much as I can today.
Day 9
The swelling goes down as each day goes by.
I can take my mask off at a cafe no worries!! My face is still swollen, but not
to the extent that it would startle someone. I can open my mouth wider, too.
About a finger's width? Brushing my back teeth is still uncomfortable, but considering
it hasn't even been 2 weeks yet, I think I'm recovering well. I don't want to
wear the wafer for much longer. I think the wafer is the reason my teeth feel
sore and weighed down :'( Or maybe the numbness is causing this sensation...
:'( I'm able to feel sensations inside my nose now. It felt clogged before, but
now it's not noticeable. Is it because I’m walking 10,000 steps per day?! I
just want to get the sutures removed now :( It's uncomfortable and painful when
I laugh :'( I'm intentionally avoiding funny videos at the moment, lol.
Day 10
My teeth don't hurt as much anymore! I tend
to sleep with my teeth clenched, so I feel quite a bit of discomfort upon
waking up, but other than that, I'm fine. It amazes me how much of a difference
a day makes during the recovery period. Do I bounce back quickly, or is it all
because of Dr. Shin's skills? I can feel most sensations in my face now. Up
until last week, my face felt like a stranger’s face, but now it does feel like
it really is mine, lol. Now I'm just waiting for the numbness in my gums to
disappear!
Day 12I went to my parents' place after being
away for quite some time, and everyone was shocked by how much the swelling's
gone down. I was also elated to hear that I look a lot slimmer. This didn’t
surprise me since it was hard to eat after the surgery, but it had me thinking
that I should go on a diet. LOL. I can feel the tug of the stitches when I
laugh, but other than that, I don't feel any pain. Does that mean the surgical
site has healed that much?! Tuesday can't come soon enough!
Day 14
Today's the 2-week mark that I've been
waiting for! I'm finally here to get my sutures out! I’ve been stressed about
it since I heard that this was painful, but thankfully, Dr. Shin assured me by
saying he would make the suture removal as pain-free as possible. This was actually
okay! It depends on the person too, but saying it doesn’t hurt is a lie… It was
definitely a tolerable pain, though. It felt like I was being liberated from
those stitches that had been restricting me. I got to eat real food for the
first time in two weeks. Porridge isn’t that good... I kept myself from eating
it with kimchi for so long. I hope I can recover faster now that the sutures
are out!
Day 17
I’m eating much better than I thought I’d
be. I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat much until I could start chewing again,
but I’ve been smashing grains of rice with my tongue. It looks like I’m going
to be wasting my soymilk-like meal replacement drinks. I can feel the swelling
going down, but I’m not seeing any drastic changes like before. My upper gums
hurt when I laugh :( It’d be great if the surgical site heals soon.
Day 19
I’ve been meeting up with my friends a lot
lately. According to them, the swelling just looks like I had my wisdom teeth
removed. I was thrilled to hear this, lol. My jawline is much more visible, and
my gums hurt less. Since I’m busy with exams, I haven’t been sleeping much, so
I don’t think I made much progress recovering from my double jaw surgery. I’ll make
sure to take care of myself when exam season is over!
Day 23
I’ve been doing the jaw exercises consistently,
and now it’s easy for me to open my mouth. It doesn’t go wider than two finger
widths, but it’s better than before. The benchmark for the 2-month mark is three
finger widths; I don’t know if it’s possible for my mouth to adjust to that. I’m
eating lots of good food: I smash all kinds of food with my tongue before
swallowing it. A week from now, I’ll be one-month post-op. Will I be able to have
pizza then? I can’t wait!
Day 25
Maybe it’s because I spent a lot of time
singing yesterday, but I think I can open my mouth wider now. I can feel my
mouth loosen up when I talk and do other things that involve my mouth. A friend
I hadn’t seen since I had double jaw surgery was shocked to see how much
smaller my face had gotten. You have no idea how proud I felt… I think I’ll be
disappointed if people don’t notice after all I’ve been through. The swelling
continues to go down, too. The one-month mark is so close!
Day 27
It’s been a few days since my last update,
and my one-month post-op check is in a few days. I’ve realized how greedy
people can be since I’ve gotten the surgery. At first, I just wanted the
elastic band taken out, but now I want to stop wearing the wafer, drink some
alcohol… I keep longing for more. Ugh… I really want to stop wearing the wafer.
Also, I’m eating really well lately, which makes me feel like I’m gaining
weight. I should have more self-control. I want to hit the one-month mark
already!
Day 35
I went to the clinic for my one-month
post-op check. The first two weeks after the surgery went by quickly, but the
last two weeks seem to have gone by slower. This means that means I’ve gotten
used to my post-double jaw surgery self. I only saw the orthodontist today and
because I can’t exactly close my mouth without it, I was told to wear the wafer
for two more weeks. Instead of wearing the wafer all day, I was told to wear it
for an hour and go wafer-less for the next couple of hours. My post-surgery
eating patterns haven’t changed much, but I can somewhat chew grains of rice
now. I used to just swallow them whole, but I already had a habit of swallowing
my food without chewing it, so I don’t chew the rice grains thoroughly. Chewing
isn’t on my mind since my mouth is numb, but it’s easy to open/close my mouth
now since I’ve been making a concerted effort to do the prescribed exercises. I
hope I can open my mouth three-finger widths by the time my six-week post-op
check rolls around. I think my swelling has gone down asymmetrically… I just
want the swelling on the right side to go down faster.
Day 42
My friends are telling me that the swelling
is hardly noticeable. I think so too, but photos make me look more swollen than
I actually am :( I've consistently been doing the exercises and I can open my
mouth to three finger widths. Wearing the wafer was really uncomfortable, but
now I've gotten so used to it that my mouth feels empty without it, lol. I want
to eat pizza already... I've gotten tired of eating ramyeon now :'(
Day 50
The swelling went down a lot! People say
that it doesn't even look like I had surgery. They also gave me the OK to stop
wearing the wafer during last week's visit. On the one hand, it's so nice to
get rid of the wafer that had been annoying me, but I'm worried about how it
might affect the alignment of my teeth... I also mentioned that there was a
screw bothering me, and they removed it for me, to my surprise. That didn't
hurt at all. I can basically eat everything now (except for thick cuts of
meat)! I think I need to go on a diet now since I'm eating so indulgently. I
went traveling recently and took a lot of photos and the swelling isn't too
noticeable. Fortunately, my face doesn't look asymmetrical like before, and it
was so nice to smile widely with no concerns on my mind.
Day 58
It's almost been two months since my double
jaw surgery! I can eat virtually anything with no issues, but I don't think my
teeth are quite up to the challenge of eating hard foods. I want to eat kimchi
with my ramen :( I didn't think that I would hit the two-month mark, but now
the three-month mark doesn't even feel far away! I caught up with a friend who
didn't know I had surgery, and she said that my jawline looked different, like
that of the actress Sarang Kim. I was ecstatic to hear this. Also, I don't have
any discomfort opening my mouth or laughing after I had that screw taken out.
Now, if I can feel sensations in my mouth and have no swelling, I'd be over the
moon.
Day 64
The swelling's not going down as much as I
thought it would :'( I've been worrying that my recent weight gain is affecting
this. I really want kimbap. I want to munch on crunchy pickled radishes and
cucumbers, but I don't think I'll be able to do so as soon as I'd like :( The
feeling of heaviness in my mouth is gone now, but I'm still waiting to feel
sensations in my gums.
Day 70
The swelling in my nose has gone down a
lot. I was stressing over my nose looking bigger in photos, but now it's back
to normal! One of my friends who didn't know I got double jaw surgery thought I
got braces because my lip looks differently now. Supposedly, those who have
undergone double jaw surgery seem to have a distinct lip shape, and I think I
know what that means now. I ordered fried chicken with the intent of shredding
it first and then eating it, but I couldn't do so because the batter on it was
pretty thick :( I just want to have kimchi already…
Day 77
People don't know that my face is still
somewhat swollen upon meeting me for the first time. It's interesting because
my face still looks filled out to me. LOL. I love the way I look with makeup
on. An improved appearance was one of my main priorities, so I'm extremely
satisfied with the results. I can just smile without just hiding one side of my
chin when taking photos now. Becoming prettier was sort of a given, but I'm
still just taking it all in.
4 Months Post-Op
It seemed like the swelling stopped going
down for a bit, but now I think I'm seeing some changes. I've forgotten that I
had double jaw surgery because there's no pain or discomfort that interferes
with my day-to-day life. According to the orthodontist, I can get my braces off
next month if all goes well. This is so exciting! I still have to get the
implant and get the screws removed, but I'm really eager to see myself without
braces.
5 Months Post-Op
The swelling goes down, stops, then goes down
again. I met up with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. They couldn't tell
I had double jaw surgery, but they said that I gave off a different vibe. Also,
I finally got my braces off, and now I'm just wearing a retainer. The retainer
isn't as comfortable as I thought it'd be, so I'm kind of missing the braces,
which in hindsight, weren't all that uncomfortable. I think I need to go to the
dentist for sensitivity in my molars though...
6 Months Post-Op
I had almost forgotten that I had undergone
double jaw surgery. I have no problems munching on some almonds or biting into
a Big Mac. I'm getting used to my retainer, and I got the implant placed as
well. It'd be nice to wear the retainer only when I'm sleeping, though. It's so
annoying! I only think about having had the surgery when I'm in front of a
camera. I would keep fussing over how to hide my facial asymmetry before the
surgery. Being able to smile confidently is great. Honestly, becoming more
physically attractive is nice, but the self-esteem boost is even better.
7 Months Post-Op
The swelling's gone down significantly. I'm
able to feel almost all sensations in my gums and the roof of my mouth. There's
no feeling of heaviness, either, but my lips look much thinner—especially my
lower lip. I'm considering getting lip fillers for it… I love being able to
smile confidently every time I'm photographed. There's sagging on the right
side of my face is noticeable, but I'm still satisfied with the results! If
only I can wear my retainer for shorter periods of time now…
8 Months Post-Op
I've forgotten that I had double jaw
surgery, except for when my jaw clicks. I recently got lip fillers since I felt
my lips got thinner post-surgery, and I really like how I look right now. I
think there are lots of people who worry about their lips getting thinner after
double jaw surgery, but the benefits are so worth it. It’s easy to plump up
thin lips with lip fillers. Also, what I thought was swelling was just a result
of my weight gain. I went on a strict diet for a bit, and my double jaw
disappeared. I thought it was a side effect of the surgery. LOL. I think I'll
be prettier after I lose more weight.
9 Months Post-Op
I'm finally done with the implant! I
thought getting the implant would be as quick as wisdom tooth removal, but it
is done over several months. There was a foreign body sensation in my mouth for
a week after I got the implant crown placed, but I don't notice it now that
several weeks have gone by. It's been almost a year since my double jaw surgery,
and it still feels like the swelling is gradually going down.
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