partytrees Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I had my two jaw operation on Thursday, my teeth were wired shut on Saturday, which brings us to Day 6 post op. Since I've benefitted greatly from this forum from reading prior experiences, I wanted to pay it forward and hopefully my post might help someone considering two jaw. For those who are interested in getting the procedure done, I have to pre-warn you that it is not an easy surgery. A fellow patient and I have coined it The Surgery From Hell. Here's why it's not easy. 1) You underestimate it. I made that mistake too, I did my homework, read through blogs and forums, tried talking to people who had two jaw and I thought I was ready. The thing is you think that you are, but you are not. People usually don't elaborate about the downside of the procedure, and if they do, you sweep it under the rug thinking that wouldn't happen to you or you can handle it. Blogs might mention difficulty breathing, but you wouldn't be able to fathom how difficult it actually is. Since day 1, you wake up with a swollen nose and my guess is all the pipes inside you are swollen too. To add to that, your nose bleeds thus blocking even more airway, and your body produces lots of mucus. The clinic will have a suction machine that sucks out the mucus and helps clear you up, but it is only to be done every 8 hours because it actually causes you to swell more. Try pinching your nose or breathing with a rag over your face, 24 hours. That's as bad as it gets. Unfortunately this is something everyone must face as all the patients that I've met during my stay have experienced that. Fortunately the breathing gets easier as you progress along but before that, it really is terrible. 2) When you wake up, you'll feel as if you have been run over by a truck. Like someone beat you up while you were sleeping and you wake up in all kinds of pain. There's nausea, giddiness, a sore throat and this indescribable helpless feeling of weakness. It's a package you would have to experience to understand. In my opinion it's worst the first 12 hours after surgery, after which you slowly get your energy back. It's not over though. 3) This feeling is taken over by discomfort and pain. Two of my new best friends. When your jaws are wired shut on the third day, it makes breathing that much more difficult and the tightness in your jaw imposes a headache. For 24 hours, everyday, you feel an ache in your jaw that escalates as and when. If you've plucked your wisdom teeth, its a similar feeling but on a way higher scale and magnitude. 4) As mentioned, when your jaws are wired shut, it feels claustrophobic. I say that my tongue is in tongue-jail. It's not only the fact that you can't open your mouth to speak or eat properly, but when you cough and have phlegm, or feel like vomiting, that's when you begin to feel scared. At everM they wire you shut for two weeks, I'm on my 4th day and it's felt like forever. I've mentioned the mad ache in my teeth yes? Being wired shut is one of the cons of having IVRO, but on the bright side, I never lost feeling in my nerves. It's a choice you have to make when deciding between the SSRO or IVRO method. At the face dental, the doctor promotes SSRO (in my opinion) his reason being the way the screws are screwed makes it more secure for foreigners since the time they spend in Korea is limited. At EverM, they promote IVRO being that there's less chances of nerve damage etc. I chose IVRO because my nerves were already sitting low on my face and I didn't wanna risk not being able to feel my face ever. 5) There is also the hunger, swelling and whys that you will start asking yourself. "Was I not good looking enough?" "I don't think I looked that bad actually" "Why was I so greedy for beauty?" But if you've read till here and still want to go ahead with the procedure, good luck to you I say. If I typed this post a few days before, it would have been a lot more pessimistic with a lot more cons. It actually felt so bad I regretted having the surgery done. Coughing out blood and phlegm and constantly bleeding through the mouth is no fun. Now that I'm feeling better in comparison, here are a list of things that you should consider taking with you if you are keen on getting the surgery done. Please note that this is not exhaustive. 1) A neck pillow 2) A cushion for your butt (yes you will need it) 3) Wet tissue (to clean your nose and wipe your face) 4) Nasal spray (you can ask the nurse what brand to get) 5) Light entertainment (forget about things that require too much concentration, you would be too tired to even reply whatsapp messages at the start) 6) LOADS OF OPTIMISM (I cannot emphasize how important this is, but know that since it's already so tough, it can only get better) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numi Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 OMG! I feel for you so much. Please hang in there. I just got back from Korea and had vline, fg, nose and eyes done all in one go. Let me tell you I am going on 6 week post op and the worse surgery of all that made me have the same regrets as you is my nose. It wasn't painful but so god damn uncomfortable. You can't breathe so your mouth gets so dry. Then you drink so much water that you are getting up to pee every other hour. Your cast might itch and you can't do anything about it. You are so congested you dont know what to do. Then after the congestion clears, your nasal passage way is so dry you get a sinus headache. Your nose will drip all the sudden and get congested whenever it feels like. After all this, you might experience what I am now, post nasal drip. You feel like when you breathe in there is mucus in the back of your throat, so you try to swallow or clear it out somehow but nothing comes out. You can't sleep because you feel like their is mucus draining in your throat from the back or your sinus but you can't blow your nose and it feels dry. Recently, I've been taking OTC meds to reduce the mucus and to make me sleep at night. I find that turning my head to the side reduces the feeling but totally does not get rid of it. In the AM hours I take Zyrtec. This is keeping this post nasal drip at bay but not gone. I am wondering how long this will last and regret every touching my nose. The you are looking at the results and not really happy too so you get depressed. Now add all the uncomfortable healing with the bad results and of course you will get depressed and regret your decision. Please be careful what you put yourself thru. Really think about why and what you are doing. It's harder than we think. We are not invincible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Thank you for this honest review. I realize what I am up against! I think the first three days will be rather rough. I am still interested in this procedure even though I know it was probably be a miserable experience. Are you still really swollen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 And someone asked on the other thread you posted if this procedure was cosmetic for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Hi Numi, Unfortunately our experience does sound similar. I still wake up from sleep because my nose slowly gets clogged up. I hope your post nasal drip gets better! It sounds like a terrible inconvenience and so uncomfortable at the same time. People are always exposed to the nice B&As but what goes on behind the scenes is another story altogether. I hope you grow to love your nose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 I hope that my review does not discourage you from undergoing the procedure, I just wanted to provide people with more information on what to expect so they would not go in blind. Most places don't really dwell into how difficult it is. That being said, I wouldn't encourage those who can't expect major changes from the surgery as it might not be worth the pain. You are right that the first three days are tough, but the third day is also the day that your teeth are tied together so the pain and headache begins again. I would say the first 4-5 days are tough. You get used to having your teeth wired together though I am still very much swollen, but a patient that did her surgery the same day as me is de-swelling quite nicely and you can see her chin start to take shape. I think it varies by the individual but the swelling doesn't really bother me. The hospital will recommend exercise (take walks) and sleeping upright. I am also intending to go back daily for deswelling treatments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 My reasons were cosmetic. I had an underbite that I wanted to correct, it wasn't affecting my chewing or anything but I wanted it fixed. Even through the swelling I can see that my face shape has changed (especially profile) and I no longer have an underbite. I will have to get braces done though. You can choose to do it in Korea or back home. I wouldn't recommend the procedure if you can't expect significant changes in your appearance from the surgery because otherwise it would not be worth the suffering. However if it could correct your appearance greatly, do go ahead and exercise caution when choosing a procedure and method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 I would like to add that I consulted at The Face Dental and then EverM. However I can endorse neither. Since two-jaw is such a big surgery, there are a whole list of complications that could possibly occur. I've spoken to patients who visited EverM and some were happy with their work, some felt they overpaid for what they got, and some never got back the feeling in parts of their faces. I was lucky to be able to feel every part of my face, meaning I never lost the sensation in my nerves. However the other patient that had surgery done on the same day as me feels numb between her nose and upper lip. My point is that luck plays a huge factor and what might be good for someone else might not be good for you. I have to say that the face dental provides excellent consultation services, they are meticulous and patient in describing the procedures and will spend as much time with you as it takes. After hearing your problems, they scroll through pictures of past patients that are similar to you to give you an idea of what to expect from the surgery. The doctor gives off a fatherly vibe and is a little shy. Overall it was a pleasant pre-op experience for me at the face dental. When I arrived the doctor was in surgery, so I had to kill more time with the consultant while waiting for the doctor. I believe that there is no doctor-switching at tfd. At everM, it was significantly more rushed throughout the CT scanning and picture taking process. They however make a mold of your teeth before consultation with the doctor, which tfd does not do. I am neutral about this although it does help give you a better layman idea of your teeth and what to expect. The doctor is also patient and will answer any questions you have. Surgery is executed by dr yoon and assisted dr seo. During my stay I observed how many patients are admitted and I can also say that there is no doctor-switching at everM. I chose EverM because I've read about and spoken to more people who had two-jaw done at EverM. For me, it was a safer bet despite the positive vibe that tfd gave. If anyone is interested in the face dental, there is a post by NYCANGEL on her experience at tfd. Overall she had a positive experience but the small sample size - 1 review, of tfd made me feel I had a better bet with EverM. Do dedicate yourself to research into clinics before deciding on a clinic and doctor, and also the different procedures available. Everm and TFD are definitely not the only clinics that offer 2jaw surgery so do your homework Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 My reasons are also cosmetic. My face has an elongated appearance to it and I have mouth protrusion. Combined with vline and chin surgery I am *hoping* for an extremely dramatic yet positive change. I am happy to hear that you are healing well and so far no complications that you have noticed. If I haven't said it before, I will say thank you for this completely honest review. I think many do not realize how serious of a surgery this truly is. In the United States, two jaw is not performed solely for cosmetic reasons. I feel that I am ready for this difficult surgery and going into this with realistic expectations. I am not a stranger to surgery, but I am expecting this to be the mother of all procedures. I would like to think I am pretty tough and I don't cry often, but I might shed a tear or two during the healing process lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aisutei Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Is the two jaw surgery the v-line surgery? Can someone elaborate on the differences for me? Thanks a bunch! So sorry to hear about that. People don't realize how serious plastic surgery can be. I got the power v-lifting (basically double chin lipo..) two months ago and the healing for it was a bit brutal for me too since I had to wear this neck brace thing to tighten the skin around my neck and I couldn't breathe the first night.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 2 week post-op update: It's exactly two weeks since I had my surgery last Thursday. I'm glad to say that everything is better. I'm glad I chose everM because so far I'm satisfied with what I'm seeing. Again I can't promise the same results for anyone, I think it applies for whenever someone recommends you a clinic. To me, going for surgery is akin to horse racing. There is no sure win horse and time, fate, luck, whatever could affect the results. If someone can guarantee you that you'd be 100% satisfied with whatever clinic they recommend, they probably are lying lol. Also, something that they like might not be something you like. Everyone has their own perception of beauty. I can only say that you should bet on a horse (in this case clinic) with greater odds of winning. I took my chances and I'm glad it paid off. As I previously mentioned, I was lucky to be able to feel all my nerves after two-jaw which is considered a major surgery. I know of people who still can't feel their chin even after vline. So yup, I was lucky in this aspect. I also didn't want a baby face and I still wanted a relatively larger chin with regard to the korean standards of what I think is a small pointy vline. I can't say for sure because I'm still quite swollen but I think I'm gonna like my chin. To recap, my main concerns were 1) not being able to breath properly 2) pain and discomfort 3) claustrophobic feeling and having my teeth wired. I've more or less recovered from all of them and now I'm looking forward to Saturday when I can have my wires removes. 1) As the doctor said, the breathing does get better. Now I'm able to sleep throughout the night without waking up from a blocked nose. I've also stopped using my nasal spray since awhile ago (not good to be too reliant on that). The thought of not being able to breathe properly is still quite scary and something that most people underestimate, or like me, overestimate ourselves to be able to handle easily. Before I went for the surgery, I was informed that I might experience some difficulty breathing but there would be nasal spray to help me breathe better. I was like, ok sure. Man I totally overestimated myself. If you've dived before, it kinda feels like breathing through your regulator underwater. There's oxygen but you don't feel like it's enough. Anyway if you are intending to go for the surgery, please persevere through this and I can promise you it gets better. You won't feel short of air all the time but for me it is more on and off. As the days pass, the episodes I have experiencing a blocked nose gets more spaced apart and less frequent. 2) The pain and discomfort can be relieved with the painkillers prescribed by the hospital (btw the antibiotics and painkillers are the most awful tasting medicine ever). I am a sucker for pain so I requested stronger painkillers so at least I had one less thing to worry about. In total I think I was on painkillers for 10 days, which is what was prescribed and including the painkiller shots I got in my IV drip. Now it's more of a discomfort from having my teeth wired together. I'd say on a scale of 10, the discomfort ranges from 1-2. So that's ok. 3) I'm having my teeth unwired this Saturday. I cannot wish for this to happen soon enough! After which I can finally get off my liquid diet. I think many people have a very different definition of liquid diet. When I had my wisdom tooth removed, my definition of a liquid diet was porridge, smoothies, soup and even mashed potato. On a two-jaw liquid diet, basically anything that has particles in it will not do. Yes, even smoothies have particles in it. They are the tiniest particles that a normal person would not notice. My rule of thumb is, anything that cannot be fed to a baby through a milk bottle, you cannot drink. Even the tiniest particles will clog up the space between your teeth and after two sips, you will realize that even water cannot pass through. The positive thing about having your teeth wired, is that you will be given a deadline to countdown to (in my case two weeks), so at least you have something to look forward to. For anyone looking to go for the IVRO method, like myself, you will have to have your teeth wired together. Please google images or blogs for how it is to have your teeth wired and what it means by that. I see people who are interested in having IVRO but they do not know what it means to have their teeth wired. Do you know what you are getting into? I'm not saying that it's so tough. You will survive, it's not THAT BAD. But at the very least do your research. You will have visible screws screwed into your jaw and wires attached to them, then the doctor will tighten the wire so that you cannot open or move your teeth. That's the best I can describe it but pictures will help you see so much clearer. If you look up John Makdessi on instagram, he has pictures of his wired jaw and also how he has his meals. That's something you can expect. By the two week mark, your swelling will also have gone down quite significantly. It is obvious to me that I am still very swollen, but to a stranger who's never seen me I think I just look chubby. You can almost pass off as normal. The underbite that I wanted corrected is also very obviously gone. Actually ever since I woke up from the surgery, my underbite was very obviously corrected. Such is the magic of two-jaw. Another piece of advice is that if you are looking for something subtle, reconsider two-jaw. I don't think there is anything subtle about two-jaw, my face shape has changed drastically for the better but it is not something that I can pass of as having braces done or having lost weight. It could be because I had it done in conjuction with v-line although I very much doubt it. Finally, I have been asked a few times if I would do the surgery again. Especially since I had such a hard time after the surgery. My reply is: "I would do it again, because I'm satisfied with the results and it was the only thing that would correct my underbite and slight asymmetry. I'm also fortunate to not experience any facial numbness and the nurses kept telling me that I was in fact recovering very well compared to others. Where I consulted another doctor, I was given the option of pulling out my features such as forehead and nose to balance the underbite. I did not take it as I felt it wouldn't actually solve the problem." That's all the updates I have so far. If you do do the surgery, or any surgery in fact, just remember that "These times are hard but they will pass". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 @aisutei Hi they are different surgeries. There should be plenty of info on the net how they are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberbeauty23 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Thank you partytrees for sharing your personal experiences. It is much appreciated. I have a question. Is it true that your teeth can move in different directions...or become much worse...after two-jaw surgery? Maybe this is a question I should ask a korean surgeon, but thought it couldn't hurt to ask. Because in the US they make you wear braces for a few months beforehand, and in Korea they don't. This is slightly a concern for me, as Im doing two-jaw (really need it; jaw is lopsided and I have long face syndrome plus overbite) and my teeth is slightly crooked? My teeth is not bad, but just don't want them going in weird places afterward. Have you noticed any difference in the way your teeth looks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanohano Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Wow, thank you so much for posting this. It made me realize that I have been approaching the idea of getting this serious dental surgery too lightly. O_o Let me ask you, did you get any facial contouring done along with the double jaw surgery? Or did you just get the double jaw surgery alone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partytrees Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 I don't think my teeth have changed, they used to be straight and they are still straight. But the bite has changed and now my teeth don't meet (gaps between top and bottom teeth). I was informed that I would have to have braces after the surgery. I got surgery in Korea for the same reason - I didn't want braces before surgery, I just wanted to have the surgery asap to fix my bite. Many clinics in Korea advertised having surgery before braces and I was tempted. I'm back in my country so I visited the orthodontists today and after speaking to him, my advice to you is to visit an orthodontist in your country before you go to Korea. I made the mistake of thinking that orthodontic treatment after the surgery would be easy but turns out it can get very complicated too. My orthodontist says that even if I really didn't want to have braces for months before the surgery, he could at the very least have put in the brackets for braces days before surgery. It will be hard to open your mouth wide for braces after surgery. If I had still insisted on going to Korea for surgery, he could have liaised with the surgeons in Korea on how much to cut etc. One thing that I really regret about the surgery is my smile. When I smiled in the past, my upper teeth used to show. After surgery, my lower teeth and about 30% of my upper teeth show. My smile is weird. My orthodontist implied that they didn't take this into consideration before surgery, resulting in me losing my smile (literally). This confirmed what I assumed went wrong previously when I was looking at my x-ray scans trying to figure out why my smile changed. He will try to fix it as best as he can, but again he reiterated the importance of the orthodontists liaising with the maxillofacial surgeons. He says that the reason why braces-surgery-braces is done is because the orthodontists who begins the treatment should finish the treatment. If surgery is done in Korea and the surgeon does whatever he does, how is the orthodontist to follow up without knowing what he should do? Different surgeons work and think differently. At the end of the day if the results are less than ideal who will you blame? The orthodontist? The surgeon? Hence I strongly advise you to at least consult an orthodontist before committing to surgery in Korea. All the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
)
Recommended Posts