Part 2. Picture attached - Vline surgery, my very first surgery

[Nikki]

In part 1, I forgot to mention I was required to remove nail polish for both hands and toes. I was given a neck pillow before the surgery, so I didn’t need to bring one there. I was also able to keep the pillow afterwards. 

Like I said in my last post, I had terrible nausea after the surgery. It was my first surgery in my whole life. During recovery, I had a roommate who also had fc surgery, but she had 2jaw and vline by Dr. Shin. We were there for two nights together.  There was a sign telling me when I can start drinking water, usually is about 4 hours post-op. The nurse came in and gave my roommate a syringe to drink her water, but I was just given a cup. Usually after vline, people can open their mouths a bit and drink water, but my front teeth were touching my lips quite closely and I was not able to get any water in my mouth. There was also a metal piece I was wearing to support my chin, and it further against me to open my mouth. Lena was there after the surgery for quite a while, asking me how I felt and all. I told her that I was not able to drink my water and she asked the nurse to give me a syringe which is primarily used for 2jaw patient. I was able to drink afterwards. Lena was a very nice persona and she spent a great amount of time sitting in the room and talking to me. Before she left, she invited the nightshift nurse to our group chat, so if I had any concern, they could translate for me to the nurse. The nurse can understand English actually but that was just more efficient and helped me to get what I needed precisely. I really liked this. It was like this for the second day and night too. The nurse from the first night was more caring than the daytime and 2nd nightshift nurse though. They had a TV for each patient, but I was honestly too tired to watch. I was focusing on drinking more water and sleeping. 

I forgot to mention, Lena helped me to run down to the pharmacy to buy nutritional drinks and because I was not able to get out of bed, I couldn’t get my wallet out of the locker, but she paid for me at the time. I did return the money to her afterwards. She did help me to run up and down to talk to nurses, buy drinks and all kinds of other things. Thinking back, I think with the disability after the surgery, having a support system and a group of people who are so willing to help means SO MUCH! Like I mentioned before, this was partially why I didn’t choose TFD. There, the staff who took me to get x-ray walked as she dragged her feet (not sure how to say it). The impression I was given was low energy and not happy with her job. Or maybe she was sick. Anyhow, this is something I considered important as I was there alone. Hye In came in my room and said bye before she went home. It was very sweet. 

The first night was better than expected. All medications were injected via IV and this was the same for the rest of the hospitalization. I would not able to insert those pills in my mouth to be honest. I was glad I was there for 2 nights so at least I could get my pain killers and antibiotics on time and effortlessly. Nurse also helped to change the ice pack regularly. 

On Saturday, I was able to drink a lot more water, and I was managed to walk a lot in the hallway. The hallway wasn’t big but there was only me and my roommate on Saturday. Other rooms’ patients left in that morning. The nurse took me to get deswelling treatment and Dr. Shin disinfected my mouth. At this time, the medal piece for my chin had removed. I was taken to get my x-ray and CT Scan, and then back to the recovery room. Hye In came to say hi in the morning before work. Daytime nurse was very young, but she did her job, just not as caring as the first night nurse. Ask them to inject the med slower if you felt the pressure too much. Lena added her to the group chat as well. During that day, my face probably swelled up more and I felt the pressure against the compression band. I had the non-adjustable band. My roommate who did 2jaw had the adjustable one. I asked if I could have the adjustable one, because at that time, my chin was hurting, and I felt SUPER uncomfortable in it. I messaged in the group chat and I believed Lena spoke to the doctor. Dr. Shin gave me the adjustable one the next morning after disinfecting my mouth. Hye In came to check in on me before she left work on Saturday and confirmed my appointment times for the following day. 

On Sunday morning at 6am, the nurse sent me for deswelling treatment and at 8am, I saw Dr. Shin. We started to pack up our things and changed to normal clothes (the zip-up shirts) at 9am. I had a backpack, a toll bag, a case of nutritional drinks, and a paper bag given by the clinic. It was too much to bring home honestly. I was tempting to leave some there and picked them back up on Monday. Anyhow, the subway wasn’t busy at all and the weather that morning was a bit cool, but I was managed to bring everything back home. So please don’t bring things that are not necessary. They had pretty much everything I needed at the clinic. 

I will try to upload my x-ray, CT, and some recovery photo along with this. 

[Celinethesinger]

Hello Nikki, thank you for sharing your experience. May i ask you how much were you quoted for this surgery?