miyumi Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 Hello all, I came to Korea from the States and I'm here for a total of 20 days. Just wanted to update my surgical journeys and give insight to someone who might be curious. I had V-Line with Dr. Lee at The FaceDental clinic, and double eyelid surgery + ptosis correction with Dr. Seo at MVP Plastic Surgery clinic. A few things I didn't know before coming to Korea for plastic surgery: 1) You are awake during double eyelid surgery! You can't feel anything since you're under local anesthesia but you are completely aware of everything and the surgeon will to tell you to open and close your eyes so they can inspect your eyelids and make necessary changes. I wasn't feeling anxious or scared because I think they mixed in happy drugs in the sedation? 2) The sedation for double eyelid surgery lasts only five minutes, but man wooh! With whatever they gave me, I went on a trip! Like I was floating through purple and orange trees, spinning shrooms, my world became a colorful kaleidoscope. It was weird, I was also awake and aware of the nurse and surgeon around me but also asleep and dreaming at the same time? It was a somewhat pleasant experience though and I really want to know the name of the drug that they gave me. (You know, for science.) 3) You should buy a neck pillow if you're the type to toss and turn in your sleep. It helps keep your head elevated even more above two pillows, but most importantly it prevents you from sleeping on your side which would result in uneven swelling of your eyelids. 4) You are bleeding in your nose and mouth after V-Line surgery. Bring at least two boxes of tissue to clean the blood. For me, it hurts like a *** and doesn't help the appetite at all - I couldn't even spoon feed myself the porridge and fruit smoothie that I made for myself. I've only been able to drink pumpkin juice and water because it's really difficult opening my jaw with the face bandage. 5) You can get a ten percent cash discount at most places. Otherwise, Korea has a tax-refund policy so bring your passport and they can prepare a receipt for you to get back 6~7% of your surgery expenses at the airport in a variety of currencies (I remember seeing USD, Chinese RMB and a few others). I am currently in day 4 post-op of my double eyelid surgery, and day 1 post-op of my V-line surgery. I will keep posting more journal updates as the days go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessicala Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 Thanks for sharing your experience ! Please share X-ray or picture if you can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 Sure, I'll share my x-rays once I receive them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 Day 1 Post-op Double Eyelid Two eyes look like they've been stung by bees! Left eye was definitely more swollen than the right eye, and it looks like I have a lazy eye. Ice pack didn't stay cold as I wanted, so I was unable to ice them as often. There was still blood on my gauze when I iced my eyes. If you can, bring a second set of ice packs or make your own with any baggie (just make sure to have gauze in between the skin and ice pack to prevent infection). I also randomly started shivering in a way I never had before, so I started low key panicking. I googled it, seems that your body is cold after anesthesia and shivering can happen within 24 hour period. I just turned off the AC and put on a sweater and shivering went away. Day 2 Post-op Double Eyelid More swollen than yesterday. I went back to the clinic for laser cleaning, deswelling injection and for the doctor to check my eyes. The treatments seemed to help swelling come down a bit. Day 3 Post-up Double Eyelid, Day of V-Line surgery Eyelids were still unevenly swollen. I wore sunglasses when I headed out for my V-Line appointment and I kept getting a bunch of stares during my walk & bus ride to the clinic. I was so confused! Later I realized that my sunglasses are more see-through than I thought. I went into the clinic and met with the Dr. Lee where I discussed last minute questions and concerns. I changed into their scrubs/pajama outfit and went to the operating room. The nurses were super friendly which really helped my nerves. My V-line surgery was more painful then the double eyelid surgery - the IV was injected near my wrist so it felt more painful, and I knocked out after anesthesiologist gave me an oxygen mask and said to breathe deeply (no weird dreams or happy floating feeling that I had for DES). Next thing, I woke up groggy and confused - people were saying wake up, wake up! I couldn't see clearly because my eyelids were swollen and when the anesthesiologist was talking to me, I started panicking because my vision was blurry. They moved me to the recovery room and I laid in bed. I slowly calmed down after an hour or so. My nose and throat was so sore and dry - they said no water for 4 hours after surgery. It was also super bloody, hence the tissues! So I just waited there with my IV drip (which I noticed made my skin glowing, I've never had such baby arms and legs before). Dr. Lee came in to check up on me and told me what he did to my jaw, a few nurses came in to check, and so did my consultant. That made me feel they were really caring, and helped prevent my panicking. Dr. Lee said I can walk around after two hours, which would actually help with the swelling. After two uncomfortable hours laying there and sometimes removing blood with the tissues, I still felt too tired to walk. But I decided to stretch my arms and legs slowly. That actually really helped, and after stretching from time to time, my mood got a lot better to the point where I felt blissful. After five hours, the nurse released me and I went back to my airbnb to take the prescribed meds, gargle with their hexomedine solution to prevent infection, ice my face and then sleep on elevated pillows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big-dream Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Thank you for sharing your experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lia_heart Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Hi! thanks for sharing. I plan to go to tfd too! I have a question, is it better to have v line surgery first before des + rhino? I plan to get 3 procedures done however I'm not sure if its better to do v line first or the others first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 6, 2019 Author Share Posted June 6, 2019 Hello, I would think double eyelid first, but you should ask your surgeons (they will know better). I just know that doing both rhino and v-line in one trip will be very difficult as it's already hard to breathe after V-Line and after rhino your lose will be even bloodier and stuffed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lia_heart Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I see, thanks!! on which day were you able to breathe well and properly again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 For V-Line, it was after day 3 until I stopped having major blood come out of my nose and mouth, but I was allowed to blow my nose since I did not have two-jaw surgery. I did rhinoplasty 5 years ago, and I remember it was so bloody and difficult to breathe for two weeks. After rhino, you will have a stent on and cannot blow your nose for three weeks. I had to clean my nose with a neti pot, but I don't know if neti pot is allowed if you have fresh wounds and stitches in your mouth from V-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 Day 5 Post-Op Eyelid Surgery, Day 2 Post-Op V-Line surgery The swelling in both eyelids have calmed down a lot more. No more blood on the gauze when I ice them. Eyelids are starting to look more even, and I can show my eyes in public now even though it's slightly swollen. I just look like I have lazy eyes but at least they're even lazy eyes lol. I'm surprised at such a huge improvement over only a few days! (Maybe the pumpkin juice packets that I've been downing is helping). V-Line swelling has gotten to the point where I look like a tomato, I had no idea my face could get this big. I'm still wearing the compression bandage under my neck to prevent swelling, which I believe I have to wear at least 7 days post-op since I got neck liposuction as well. I can't show this face in public, I definitely need to wear a mask. The bleeding in mouth stopped bleeding as profusely, nose still dry bloody. Mucus is still a problem, making it a bit difficult to breathe. But since the bleeding is minimal, I could finally spoon feed myself the rice porridge I made and pineapple smoothie that I blended for nutrients. I also take off the compression bandage while I eat so I can open my mouth without worry of damaging my healing chin. Make sure to gargle the hexomedine solution after you eat to prevent any infections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missorange Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Hi @miyumi, enjoyed reading your updates. The first drug was ketamine. I ask for benzo with opiate whenever I have twilight anaesthesia which is more conventional, as ketamine is also a hallucinogenic cheap street drug, horse tranquiliser and used in children in A+E. You can google ketamine. The second anaesthetic would be propofol if a white milk like substance went into your iv and you were intubated. If it was twilight then benzodiazepine and an opiate but most likely it was general anaesthesia as v line involves bone cutting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 Wow, thank you for that! What do you mean by A + E? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 Day 8 Post Op Eyelid and Day 5 Post Op V-Line My eyelids are still lightly swollen, but they can pass off as normal looking. I got the stitching removed two days ago, and there was virtually no pain. The doctors and nurse said it looks good. It's still healing though so hopefully the incision disappears in time. I think it's fine to use moisturizer and sunblock as the incisions should no longer be open. Should still wear sunglasses for at least one more week to prevent sun exposure aka scarring. My V-Line jaw is still swollen. My face looks like a giant square cube T_T. Still can't go out in public without freaking people out. I totally wasn't prepared for swelling to take this long to go away. Also the outer corners of my mouth has purple bruises, which doctor says is normal when the face starts to deswell. I still am eating blended soft smoothie, yogurt, porridge. Only "crunchy" thing I can handle is seaweed snacks because they kinda melt in your mouth. Can't really open my mouth properly to eat solid food yet. And I can barely speak - Siri doesn't respond my voice commands anymore, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyumi Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 Edit: Should probably take proper precaution and wear sunglasses or at least sunblock for a few months after eyelid surgery! Just found out it takes a whole year for the incision to heal completely, but the first few weeks/months are crucial time for healing. After seeing some inflamed and obviously cut eyelid incisions on YouTube, I am so glad that the incisions Dr. Seo made are barely noticeable, his work is so meticulous yet he made it look so effortless and clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slibra Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Hey! I also des done, as well as full fc with additional procedures done at TFD. I'm 3 weeks post op now and my face is still pretty tight and swollen. Everything takes time. I could start eating solid food by cutting them into smaller pieces after the first week and currently, I can chew on meat as long as it's not too hard. All the best for your recovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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