Chin Lipo Experience
Reading about everyone else’s experiences before going into my procedure was really helpful, so I wanted to share about mine and how the first 3 days post-op have gone!
Cost: $5000 for chin/jawline & renuvion skin tightening, local anesthesia only
Surgeon: Dr. Kyle Kimura w/ Ascentist Plastic Surgery in Kansas City
I am one of those people that has EXTREME anxiety about medical procedures, and a ridiculously low pain threshold lol, and I was very nervous about this. I legit nearly backed out on the day of because I was so scared, and came close to crying a couple times during the procedure - not from pain but just from being generally freaked out lol.
Dr. Kimura and his nurse Bailee are WONDERFUL; very warm and calming and they explained everything very thoroughly beforehand and also talked me through each step during the procedure. Bailee has also checked in on me via their text line every day afterwards to see how I’m doing!
LOCAL ANESTHESIA: The shots for the local anesthesia (one behind each ear and one under my chin) were not very painful. I’ve had a ton of dental work done and these shots were nowhere near as bad as getting shots of Novocain. So if you can handle getting Novocain before a filling, these shots are a breeze. More like a sharp pinch than anything and over very quickly.
PROCEDURE: The procedure itself was extremely unpleasant to be awake for and there was a lot of pressure/discomfort where it felt like my skin was being pulled/stretched and it was really unnerving. Dr. Kimura paused multiple times to check on me and ask if I was in any pain, and truthfully I was not experiencing pain, I was just really freaked out haha. He offered several times to take a break, which I really appreciated, but I just wanted to get through it so I didn’t take him up on it
The Renuvion was an extra level of weird because it’s basically pushing heat through under your skin so I could smell a slight burning smell, but again, no worse than the weird smell when they’re drilling off part of your tooth at the dentist 🤷🏼♀️
It felt like it took FOREVER and I was extremely anxious the whole time. I chose local anesthesia partially because it brought down the cost and partially because the only other time I’ve been put under I had a very unpleasant reaction to it (very nauseated and disoriented afterwards, puking, etc.) During the lipo I was wishing I’d opted to be put under haha. But now that I’m through it I’m glad I just went with the local.
A couple things I wish I had done differently: when I had my pre-op appointment Dr. Kimura said he could give me a Xanax type sedative to help with the anxiety, but when I arrived for my procedure Bailee said it wasn’t listed in my paperwork, and I didn’t push for it. Not anyone’s fault there but mine - it was probably just a small miss on the paperwork but I should have advocated better for myself in the moment because I definitely think it would have helped take the edge off 😬
Also, I had brought my AirPods and was planning to listen to a podcast episode I’d been saving in order to distract myself. This is my usual strategy when getting a filling lol. But they offered to play music and let me pick what I wanted to listen to, and I didn’t know if maybe the AirPods would get in the way, so again I didn’t bring it up.
In retrospect I think the AirPods would have been just fine; Dr. Kimura did need to give a few instructions about turning my head etc., but I think we could have worked around that, so I wish I’d had the podcast to distract me because the music definitely wasn’t cutting it 😂 Again, I should have spoken up in the moment but I was so riddled with anxiety that I wasn’t as assertive as usual lol
RECOVERY: My procedure was first thing in the morning, and by the time I got home and the local anesthetic was wearing off I was in quite a bit of pain, but not terrible. To continue the dental work comparison it was worse than the pain I usually have after getting a bunch of fillings, but not MUCH worse. If childbirth or a kidney stone is a 10, pain was maybe at a 5-6 at most?
Not super fun though so I was VERY glad he had called in real pain meds because Tylenol was not helping much. When my husband picked up my prescription and I took some, the combination of that and the nap I took afterward had me feeling much better.
I would say day 2 and 3 I really haven’t been in pain per se - just swollen/tender and a bit uncomfortable. I’ve been sleeping just fine at night thanks to the drugs lol. I took this week off work and am VERY glad I did. I have friends who bounce back from stuff really quick, like they’re taking their kids to the zoo two weeks after giving birth type of thing, but I know I’m not one of those people lol.
The compression wrap around my head makes it difficult to talk clearly so even if I was working remotely it’d be difficult to be on calls (and definitely would not want to be on camera lol). My instructions for the wrap are to wear it 24/7 for the first week and then at night for another week or two.
The wrap is not terribly uncomfortable, and when it starts to hurt I just know it’s time to take some pain meds. I loosen it quite a bit for when I’m trying to eat.
I wish I would have realized chewing was not going to be a thing for a few days because I didn’t buy any appropriate groceries lol. My husband went out and got yogurt and jello and some soups for me! It’s much easier today than it was yesterday, and yesterday was easier than day 1, so I’m hoping I’ll work up to actual chewing in the next couple days - I miss food 😂
(ETA: Eating is difficult just because the procedure affected a lot of the muscles I use to chew, so that movement is difficult/uncomfortable. However some people mentioned feeling like they had a sore throat, and thankfully I have not experienced that. My throat feels just fine and I have no trouble or pain when swallowing, which was something I was worried about beforehand because having a sore throat is miserable!!)
I haven’t taken the wrap off yet to take a peek, but Dr. Kimura and Bailee said it was looking great when the procedure was finishing up. That first day when the pain was starting to kick in and I didn’t have the good pain meds yet I was like “this was an extremely stupid idea, why am I putting myself through this just for vanity?!” but I’m feeling much more optimistic now 😂😂
I’m 40 years old, female, and 135lbs at 5’-6”, after being very underweight for my whole life up until I had kids. My double chin was making me so self-conscious and I found myself avoiding being in photos with my kids, and I decided I didn’t want to live like that. But it’s very much genetic and not due to being overweight. I eat a balanced diet and am active (working out, lifting weights), so I think the surgery was really the only sustainable fix.
I will post updates with photos in the future since again those were very helpful for me! Thank you to everyone here for sharing your experiences!!