Genioplasty and Recovery (2 weeks PO)
hi! i recently had a sliding genioplasty (only, no JS) to complete a previous orthodontic treatment.
i thought i (F20s) could share my experience, because i think it may differ from what i saw people share online while i was doing research about the operation.
(disclaimer: this is a lengthy and detailed post [+ my second time writing it 😞] and english is not my first language, so apologies for any mistakes. do let me know if there is a better way to format this post and make it easier to read.)
cost:
- the surgery was fully covered by my province's public healthcare, since it was considered to be functional (lip incompetence). so i was put on a waitlist (about 6 months?) and my surgery was done at a local hospital under general anesthesia.
- only paid for the initial consultation and evaluation with the surgeon my orthodontist referred me to. i don't remember the price but definitely under $100 (CAD)
purpose:
- to fix or at least reduce my lip incompetence. i didn't that when your face is at rest, your teeth should not be touching but your lips should be. i would even slightly clench my teeth/jaw to close my mouth and keep my lips together.
- also for aesthetic reasons. my chin is slightly recessed so the surgery would obviously give me a nicer side profile. i was never insecure about this and could've gone about my life without ever doing the surgery. i decided to go ahead with the operation since i would have nothing to pay out of pocket.
surgery:
- i think this is where my experience starts to differ from what i've read previously online. from what i saw in my research, i expected my surgeon to cut across my gums under my teeth to fully expose the chin (and mental nerve). therefore i also expected to experience numbness in my jaw and chin.
- to advance my chin (6 mm), instead my surgeon made a small cut inside my mouth below my bottom lip to expose the bottom part of my jaw and my chin only. i actually found out when my surgeon told me at my post-op appointment. he had actually already showed me pre-op where he would cut but i had assumed he was pointing to my gums. i learned that it's called the tunnel technique and i experienced very little numbness because of it.
recovery:
- immediately after
- fresh out of surgery, very little swelling of course but i had pain at my incision site, around 7-8 (closer to 8). however i was able to hold full conversations through it (high tolerance). i had to let the nurse know that despite me talking comfortably, i was at a level of pain that would make it impossible for me to sleep, it would've kept me completely awake. i was given some anti-inflammatory medicine and then a narcotic later on because the pain wasn't changing. even the narcotic didn't subside any pain so after waiting over an hour on my recovery, we decided to head home, hoping it would eventually kick in.
- the pain did subside at home and i only had numbness at the center of my bottom and my chin and a bit of tightness. i was immediately able to eat near-liquid food (mashed potatoes and soup). oddly enough i had trouble peeing, i had to fully contract my bladder (turns out that's common after GA). after a nap practically sitting up, i was even able to go on a short walk accompanied.
- i also had a bit of an issue with a stitch in my incision that kept bleeding that evening and throughout the night. no need to go into details because it ended up being fine with some more pressure the next day, but it did leave a small opening in that part of my incision.
- i slept on my back and almost fully elevated at 90° (they had suggested 30°), with the help of 2 stacks pillows and a neck pillow(!). also refilled my head wrap with ice and slept with it on. my pharmacist had insisted that i should take a pill of my prescribed oxycodone (5 mg) at least for the first night post op. so i did, especially considering the other medications hadn't really done much for me. i was also able to gently brush my teeth before bed.
- couple days later
- i took another oxycodone pill the next morning just to be safe with my pain management. other than that, i made sure to take my other prescribed pain medication (acetaminophen and ibuprofen) regularly, about every 6 hours. i also made sure to keep up with the rest of my medicine (antibiotics + peridex) and ice my face often.
- my lip (in)competence is already better. quite literally no pain (medication probably helping) after that first night, but definitely some discomfort. i quickly was able to eat soft for the rest of the week.
- i did keep sleeping very elevated and with ice on my face the first couple days. they had told me the swelling would peak on day 3, and it truly did. the bottom part of my face got huge, quite uncomfortable. it then started to go down significantly. i would've been able to go back to work 4-5 days post-op but decided against it because i didn't want to manage my medication and discomfort at work.
- my bottom lip looked significantly smaller but it improved as the swelling went down.
- 10 days later
- a lot of the swelling went down, it's mostly around the chin and lower along the jaw. i noticed 2 hard small and slightly tender bumps my chin and jaw. at my post op appointment, my surgely told it was hard swelling and that i could massage it.
- my lip incompetence isn't completely fixed but i can conclude it's much better. the areas between my bottom lip and my chin got even tighter (can't pull down my bottom lip to smile). so it might still improve once it goes away.
- i'm realizing i'll have to learn to hold my mouth differently from my old habits. i'm not used to closing my mouth by only moving my lips and not my jaw.
- the next day i even got to go to my uni prom, where people told me they couldn't even tell i had surgery (i definitely could). by then my diet had fully gone back to normal and i got to enjoy a filet mignon (with a couple alcohol drinks, i won't lie – please talk to your doctor before you do. i personally judged it would be fine but had forgot to ask at the post-op appointment)
- 14 days later
- the small hard bumps are still there but almost all the regular swelling went down. i know there is still a couple of months before it is fully back to normal but for now i really like the way it looks. numbness of my lower lips is about 90% gone and the tightness on my chin is starting to improve a bit. the small opening my stitches issue had caused is now fully closed (along with the rest of the incision). my surgeon told me to massage my incision scar once it is fully closed and healed.
- until today i was still sleeping on my back slightly elevated (30°), but i don't think it is necessary and i'll go back to a normal position today. i did notice today that i really do need to get rid of my old clenching habit. every 15 to 30 mins, i have to remind myself to relax my face because i can feel tension and even soreness in my jaw and cheeks. i'm guessing i wasn't feeling that tension when i was doing it before because i was compensating, but now i definitely feel it when i clench jaw.
- i also weighed myself just today and found out i lost about 5-6 lbs. it's most likely related to the diet i had post-op.
results:
- overall i'm quite happy with the way it looks, kinda depends on the day. because my face is constantly chanting from the leftover swelling, i try not to think anything definitive now, knowing it'll probably keep changing for months.
- i was afraid i wouldn't recognize myself looking in the mirror but i really do just look like myself. there's obviously more space between my lips and the bottom of my face but feel like it harmonizes my features. so my face now looks slightly longer and more almond shaped but again, it really just feels like myself.
- i'm waiting for the tightness on my chin to fully go away before i judge my lip incompetence, but i will say it's already improved.
- it does kinda snatch you jaw but i still have some leftover swelling under there so i will wait and see.
side effects summary:
- lip and chin numbness, tightness, swelling, hard swelling, bleeding, weight loss, bruising (personally i didn't have any), tatar buildup from the peridex, having to hold your mouth/face differently.
i hope this wasn't too long to read and might help anyone looking for more information on the procedure and recovery.
TLDR: surgery was covered by public healthcare to fix lip incompetence. very easy recovery, with little downtime and (almost) completely no pain. some temporary side effects. happy with the results!
edit: for some reason, huge chunks of my post seemed to be missing so i tried to add them back. hopefully it's all there now.