Why I decided to do surgery
I found out that my jaw was more developed than others in middle school. I kept hearing nicknames such as gorilla. My insecurity was severe so I tried to fix it with orthodontic treatment, but was told that because my teeth were turned inwards, my jaw wound protrude further if I do orthodontic treatment. I gave up on braces and made it to adulthood :( and as an adult I lost weight and began using makeup so unless I mentioned it first the people around me told me they didn’t notice so I just dealt with it. Personally I hated the lantern jaw feeling so I kept my mouth closed tightly which created wrinkles on my chin. When I had my photos taken I hated it when others took them of me and if they did take photos of me and I saw it I would become depressed (especially if it’s of my side view) and my self-confidence became so low. Photoshop was a must :( I decided not to delay it any further because it’s better to done at a younger age so I picked a few hospitals and went for consultations!!
Why I chose EU Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Because I’m from daegu and due to the covid situation, EU wanted to delay the consultation as much as possible... :( For those who already did surgery, EU seems to be the best! But it was sad for me,,, LOL so I went to other clinics and was so sick of consulting so I put in a reservation at a different clinic but it was kind of iffy and when browsing the reviews on apps there was one person whose review was completely what I was looking for so I sent them a message and they told me they did it at EU so I asked a few things and decided I should do it at EU, booked and went to the consultation. People say that when they go for consultations there’s one clinic that makes you think “this is the one!” and for me it was EU. My personality is such that does not have a lot of questions but as long as something is trustworthy I tend to just leave everything to the trustworthy entity but EU definitely made me feel that I could do that! The consultant was also so kind hehe so I decided to do surgery at EU and I cancelled the reservation at the other clinic!
Day of the surgery
I had such difficulty breathing. I had no pain but breathing was so hard I feel like I annoyed the nurses :( … I’d brought a mini humidifier just in case and that was a game changer. I don’t even want to imagine what hospitalization would have been like without a humidifier…
Post-op day 1
In the morning they removed the nasal tube and the catheter and I did laser deswelling treatment and met with the doctor for nasal suction and surgery site disinfection. I also had some blood drains put in so they also removed that! The feeling after the nasal suction was so refreshing but short lived and the war with difficulty breathing began,, although I developed a technique from yesterday so it was okay and because I couldn’t sleep at all yesterday I made up for it today!!
I’m relieved because I didn’t have any nausea. Dr. Shin visited me in the evening and told me that he would not be here tomorrow so Dr. Kim will help me tomorrow and checked my swelling before he left :( Thank you
Post-op day 2 (discharge)
Today Dr. Kim checked how I was able to bite the wafer and disinfected my mouth! I took some x-rays and got my prescription and was discharged. I live in the countryside so I was wondering how to get there but I got there safely! My condition was great. I had some Nucare and took my medication and laid down. When the sun set I went for a 30 minute walk.
I removed the tape from my face and went for an hour walk before it became too hot. The swelling in my neck and nose was slightly alleviated after my walk so it was easier to breathe. My family told me that I look like a baby due to my swelling and said I was cute LOL the swelling will go down with time but I just want to breathe easily
Post-op day 5 (6/13)
Up until yesterday there was no change to my weight, but when I weighed myself yesterday I lost 3 kilos. Also the swelling in my face went down drastically. My parents saw my face and wondering what I did for the swelling to go down in one day and were fascinated. Now I have no issues breathing, so maybe that’s why but now I’m unbelievably hungry :( Yesterday I forced myself to drink Nucare in order to take my medicine but now I’m craving so many things,, so I looked up post-double jaw surgery diet and saw that cream soup was good so I made some I’m happy today I also went on a walk for 1 hour
Post-op day 6 (6/14)
In the morning I was swollen again my neck was also swollen so it hurt like when you have a cold but in the afternoon it became better again. I read so many reviews and saw that by this point the throat pain gets better so I wasn’t too concerned. I figured that going on a walk would mean that the swelling would get better again so I took an hour and a half long walk. My appetite is an issue again today… I met with friends and my friends apologetically ate chicken. I couldn’t take it when I saw that so I put some castella in milk and ate it but because I’m on antibiotics I had diarrhea :( I shouldn’t eat what I’m told not to eat.
Post-op day 7 (6/15 1-week checkup)
I went to EU for a checkup today. The doctor took a look and disinfected the area and said my bite and progress look good but I should focus more on oral hygiene. I feel like I was already paying special attention to it,, also when I got home my family was eating chicken. Smelling fried chicken for two days in a row made me go crazy so I cut unsalted chicken into tiny pieces and put it on my tongue to taste then swallowed so I had indigestion,, I should not be gluttonous in the future.
Post-op day 9 (6/17)
These days I put makeup on the upper half of my face above the mask and meet with friends for coffee and join people for drinks but drink water (I cut pork into small pieces and swallowed it after tasting it but it was too difficult so I stopped) The swelling in my face went down so quickly so if I don’t mention that I did surgery, people think I just got fillers!! Thanks to EU and Dr. Shin when I look in the mirror or take selfies I become so happy :( I took more photos since the surgery than the whole year put together… Every day is so different and my recovery is so fast that even the friends I met yesterday are surprised at my face today!
Post-op day 10 (6/18)
These days it’s a war between me and my appetite… Most people will react by saying “it must hurt” when I tell them I did double jaw surgery but there was absolutely no pain since the surgery until now except some tightness around the stitches when I smile..? But the toughest part of recovery is not being able to eat what you want to :( I started crying so my family pitied me and made me steamed egg… But after eating it my appetite exploded and I delivered some noodles and cut it up into tiny pieces and drank it. After I became full I told myself I should not do this and gargled diligently… because it would be bad if I got an infection:(!
Post-op day 12 (6/20)
Every day is the same so it’s boring and hungry… but time goes by quickly! In two days I will go to remove my stitches. Now the swelling Is staying the same :( at first it went down super quickly…
Post-op day 14 (6/22)
Today I went to the clinic for the 2-week checkup and stitch removal. Some people say that stitch removal hurts and some people say it doesn’t hurt at all but I cried… The lower gums hurt when you touched it but removing the stitches was so so painful :’( this was the first time since the surgery when I felt pain….. but my bite is good and the progress is good so I felt good and they let me do the laser for a long time!
Post-op day 15 (6/23)
I normally enjoy spicy and stimulating foods but since I couldn’t have them for 2 weeks it was tough. Now that the stitches have been removed I thought I could have them so I had spicy kimchi porridge and at night I had Chapagetti+Buldak myun. I felt alive… But because of the excessive sodium, the inside of my mouth felt heavy :( I should eat fewer stimulating foods starting tomorrow.
Post-op day 16 (6/24)
My walks have been easy these days and maybe it’s because I had spicy foods yesterday but my swelling has stagnated. I ate pumpkin puree and went for a walk. At night I had a housewarming party to attend but it was full of things I couldn’t eat… I was depressed but as soon as I got home I made and ate cream risotto so I was happy.
Post-op day 19 (6/27)
I went for a drive in the suburbs with my friends but they couldn’t eat anything tasty because of me so we just went to a café and had sipped some drinks so I felt apologetic… My friend took a photo of the side of my face and I saw how much my jaw was pushed back and asked her to take more. In the past I would have become instantly depressed when I saw my side profile but my friends told me I’m pretty and that I made a good decision and were happy for me.
Post-op day 20 (6/28)
We went to the riverside to eat some boiled meat porridge. Thankfully I am allowed to eat porridge so I ate a lot! Playing in the water is dangerous so I just ate the porridge and put my feet in the water. Day by day time seems to go quickly! Dr. Shin told me to practice relaxing my jaws but I spent my whole life shutting it so it’s tough :( I was told if I keep doing it I will have ugly wrinkles in the future…
Post-op day 22 (6/30)
I went to visit a relative and they said they think my face changed. My parents said it was from orthodontic treatment but kept saying that wasn’t it and kept pressing so we eventually confessed that I did double jaw surgery. They were so surprised and told me I became so pretty but they did not even imagine that I would have done double jaw surgery :( I should have just said it was just fillers… :( I should just tell people I haven’t seen in a long time that I got fillers because it looks so natural. When the swelling goes down I am planning on telling people I just did orthodontic treatment!!! That’s how natural the jaw is. I really hope the swelling goes down quickly.
Maybe it’s because I consume so much sodium but after removing the stitches the swelling progress has plateaued… Even though I keep telling myself I won’t eat it, when I become hungry I will eat too much sodium :(,,, I’m scared the swelling will never go down! I’m not taking too many photos because of the swelling… Starting tomorrow I will walk twice as much and I don’t normally drink a lot of water but now I will make an effort to drink more water and also drink pumpkin puree.
Post-op day 27 (7/5)
Tomorrow is finally the 1-month checkup I hope I’m told I can chew things…! Today I went to see the ocean with my friends. I drove since 4-days post-op but at first due to the muffled hearing in my ears I drove short distances but now because my ears are better I can drive long distances hehe but it’ll be catastrophic if there’s an accident so safety first! Today my friend took a photo of the side of my face and I was happy that my jaw was pushed back but I didn’t like the swelling so I deleted it…
Post-op day 28 (7/6)
I went for my 1-month checkup! I took the same photos as I did before the surgery and despite being swollen there’s still a big difference… :( Dr. Shin is the best… He told me to open my mouth so I did and he said I’m doing better than average! I can fit about 3 fingers while wearing the wafer hehehe I was told I can chew things that I can crush between my fingers so I almost cried… I thought time would go by slowly but it’s already one month… My not being able to close my lips is due to the swelling so in order to avoid the wrinkles in my chin he told me to relax my chin but that’s the most difficult for me… :( I also met with the orthodontist and he said my bite is really good even among people with good bites he said I was one of the best. Because I only heard good things today it felt liky my birthday!!
Post-op day 30 (7/8)
Although I was given permission to chew, I’m still not used to it and even rice feels hard so I only chew a bit and swallow immediately. I thought my life would be different after being given permission to chew but I still can’t eat meat so the level of stress regarding food is about the same,,, In the daytime I can remove the wafer and I check my bite in the mirror from time to time and it seems like I bite well. I want to start post-op braces soon!! Now I’m so bored and I want to work but eating is so difficult so I think I should keep resting.
For 2 weeks after removing the stitches I ate so much that of the 7 kilos I lost after surgery I gained 4 kilos back but after being permitted to chew I didn’t really eat much so I lost 3 kilos again. Maybe that’s why but the swelling seems to have gone down a bit but it might just be my imagination… but the swelling is about the same! When I wake up in the morning it looks more swollen then at night it goes away and it keeps repeating. Now, aside from eating meat there are no issues! I really want to eat meat.
Post-op day 36 (7/14)
I met a friend for the first time in 5 years. I was asked if I had some fillers in the front of my cheeks and I told her honestly that I did double jaw surgery 1 month ago and she was very surprised because she didn’t know recovery from double jaw surgery would be this fast and it’s not obvious at all. Now I don’t think I will need to tell people I did double jaw surgery unless I will be eating with them!! I should refrain from deliberately telling people in the future… They say becoming pretty in a natural-looking way is a success and in that case I’m very very very very successful!!
Post-op day 39 (7/19)
I went to visit a friend’s home and they took a video of me secretly. If it was before the surgery, I would not have watched the video and my self-esteem would plummet but this time I watched it several times… Even though it was taken secretly my jaw is not protruding so I looked pretty. I just wish my lips would shut :( I keep telling myself that once the swelling goes down and I begin orthodontic treatment my lips will shut!
Post-op day 42 (7/22)
I went to Jeju island. I couldn’t eat meat or seafood so the people I went with had a tough time :( I couldn’t even eat black pork which Jeju is famous for… I had noodles at a pork restaurant… This is my first travel destination since becoming pretty so I wanted to take lots of photos but because of covid I had to wear my mask diligently so I couldn’t take too many photos so I was sad and I couldn’t eat a lot of tasty foods so I was also sad about that… I guess by the time my bones heal covid will end as well so I’m just waiting for time to pass!! One of the friends I travelled with also had done double jaw surgery so I was marveling at the fact that she was chewing ice. I was told “you will reach this point as well so just bear with it” and as it was advice from someone who experienced it, it really hit home.
Post-op day 49 (7/27)
I started my braces… I thought chewing was a bit easier now but now my teeth hurt :( If I hadn’t even done braces before surgery It would have been a bigger shock… I’m comforting myself by telling myself it will be better in a few days. Now I no longer need to do the wafer!! I booked another orthodontist’s appointment 1 month from now and we will do a 3-month post-op check-up together so it feels like the day that I will be allowed to eat meat is imminent so I am happy. Also the sensation in the roof of my mouth is returning. It feels ticklish and I couldn’t feel cold or hot things but at some point I could feel them again!
Post-op day 52 (7/30)
I tried eating sushi!!! I had soft salmon and egg sushi and I almost cried… I’m fascinated and happy at the variety of foods that I can eat slowly increasing. It’s already more than 50 days since the surgery and I can’t believe it. It feels like the day that I was struggling to breathe after surgery was just a few days ago… :( now my family is telling me that I don’t look like I did surgery and I look like a regular person. I was sad that my mouth is smaller than before the surgery but everyone told me that it looks better now that is smaller so I’m less sad. The feeling of the bite in the left molars feel like they’re all touching but the right side feels like there’s a gap between the upper and lower teeth. I’m assuming it’ll get better with braces so I’m not too concerned!! I completely trust the EU doctors.
I returned to work today! I went to a new interview and began working at a new place and nobody knew that I did surgery so I didn’t tell anyone and I could eat everything except things that are hard so nobody suspected anything. I think they just think I don’t have a big appetite :( I really wanted to eat meat during lunch but I will be able to in one month so I’m suppressing my urges… Maybe it’s due to the wire from my braces but the inside of my mouth is scratched up and swollen… I want the orthodontic treatment to be over soon too… In terms of the feeling, just the roof of my mouth is tingly!
When I see photos or videos others took of me I’m happy. In the past, I would’ve begged them to delete it but now I tell them to send it to me and I keep looking at it. I want 3 months to come quickly so that I can eat whatever I want… Especially pork belly… Now I can bite into sandwiches with my front teeth. Aside from not being able to eat meat, I feel similar to how I was before surgery sometimes. It’s also fun to compare the before and after photos.
Post-op day 81
I met with the orthodontist and took x-rays and a CT for the 3-month check-up. I was also supposed to meet with Dr. Shin but a surgery suddenly got scheduled so they asked me in advance if I could just meet with him next time! I just assumed that they will let me know if they noticed anything wrong with my x-rays so I just said okay and I guess there were no issues because they did not contact me hehe I can’t believe it’s already been 3 months.
Post-op day 85
Now my nostrils don’t look asymmetrical and the sensation in the roof of my mouth is somewhat recovered. It’s also been a while since anyone asked if I got fat grafting or fillers!!! If I meet someone for the first time in a long time they just think I got prettier due to the braces- that’s how natural it is. Those who saw me not long after the surgery are fascinated that the swelling is completely gone. I think it’s because I move a lot now that I started work.
Post-op day 91
It’s finally 3 months. As soon as it became 3 months I ate my favorite hamburger. I could cut it with my front teeth and the patty wasn’t very hard so it was easy to eat. I can also open my mouth as wide as the burger!!! I was touched :(
Also, the chin wrinkles that I was concerned about since before the surgery were still bothering me so I got a botox shot in that area. I had asked Dr. Shin at the 1-month checkup and he had told me that I could technically get the botox shot at that time but it’s best to wait a bit so I got it as soon as I reached the 3 month mark. There’s still a long way to go with my braces but still it’s already been 3 months since the surgery so it feels like recovery is almost done. I lost my phone so I couldn’t find my photos but I found it so now I have my photos hehe sorry???
Now I live while forgetting that I ever did surgery. Before the public holiday I was supposed to go to the orthodontist but I stupidly got my bus time wrong so I missed my bus and called the clinic and they responded kindly. In terms of discomfort, the mini screws in my gums hurt my lips and cheeks… :( other than that there are absolutely no issues!!
I originally didn’t have much elasticity in my skin so I thought I would sag a lot after surgery and even though I see a little bit I’m a bit sad but I think I can just get lifting treatments so I don’t think it’ll be a big issue!!
6 months post-op
Aside from the difficulty eating hard food due to the braces, I can eat anything! I can even eat picked radish… It’s a bit awkward when I try to cut with my front teeth but I think it’ll get better. Also the sagging… The skin itself has no elasticity which caused a bit of sagging so I did Shurink treatments and it’s really good!! I think it’ll get better if I do it a lot. I became much prettier so I want to remove my mask but I can’t due to covid so I’m so sad :( I want covid to end soon!
7 months post-op
I’m eating whatever I want! I can’t cut things with my front teeth but I can cut picked radish hehe because it’s winter and due to covid I’m not really leaving my home and even if I do I always wear my mask so nobody knows I did surgery! Nobody at work knows I did surgery but sometimes they say “your face is slim” and it makes me smile :’)
Before surgery when someone took photos of my face I would yell at them to delete it like I was having a seizure but now I want people to take photos of me and if my friends secretly take photos of me I feel happy :’) I still can’t go to nice places to take photos due to covid but I think I will be able to take pretty mask-less photos soon!!! I think I chose the right period to do surgery,,, I was busy due to covid and now it’s already been 10 months. I hope the orthodontic treatment finishes soon :( I came to love myself after surgery so I’m thankful to the doctor!!! Those who haven’t seen me in a long time ask why I lost so much weight but I’m actually heavier than I was before the surgery but everyone thinks I lost weight. One bad thing about surgery is that even though my face is smaller I gained weight so my shoulders are as wide as the ocean,,, that’s all I can see LOL my weight :’( I eat everything so well so I gained so much weight.
It’s already been 1 year since the surgery. I thought I would be able to go around without a mask by now but it’s still bad :( I want to take photos of my beautiful self without a mask but there is no time to do that so I’m upset that I can’t have many nice photos of me. Whenever I remove my mask briefly people tell me my face is really small which makes me really proud and I’m fascinated that no one can tell that I did surgery. I don’t tell people I’m not close with but even if I do they cannot imagine that I did it because it’s so natural and a lot of people ask me for the clinic so I’m recommending EU to everyone!
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