Berserkmind wrote:Hi ppl i'm back from my surgery!
I promised to share my experiece so here it is:
Consultation
Dr Pat's clinic is not easy to find, my taxi driver got lost so if you are going, it is better to print the map (in thai) and show taxi uncle. Anyway, i reached there at 9plus and the nurses were very friendly and speak basic english. There was alot of waiting, before i got to see Dr Pat ard 11+. In my personal opinion, i didnt feel comfortable with Dr Pat because being new to this, i wanted to know the processes and risks but none was mentioned. I asked about the recovery and whether there will be swelling and Dr Pat gave vague and evasive answers like "you can go back right after the surgery." Instead, there were alot of suggestions on what procedures i can do to my face, and some sort of "upselling". I declined and the consultation ended abruptly and i was told to wait outside.
Surgery:
The waiting was forever. And for a first timer like me who went alone, it became very scary. After about 1 hr of waiting, i was told to go into the surgery room. I was given LA jabbed into my inner and outer cheeks and was jabbed on both hands (not sure for wat). It was quite a yucky experience because you are awake throughout and you know exactly what is being done to you. My inner cheeks were being cut and nurses/doc used fingers to pry open my cheek and "push" the outer cheeks inwards and cut out the fats. I could feel the tugging and cutting although there were not much pain from that but more pain from the nurses stretching my mouth wide. Overall the prying open of my mouth and the cutting was done professionally but i felt that it was very rough on me, but i guess it is part of the process. i actually moaned at some parts. After that there was this suction used to suck up the fats and i believe there was some washing of the wound after. Finally the wound was stitched up and my face was numb and i couldnt talk properly. (i closed my eyes throughout becos it was too icky for me to watch and i was being a scardey cat. so the description is based on what i felt during the surgery) The whole process from the preparation of the surgery (mostly taking bp + heart rate + jabbing) to the stitch up took about 1 hr.
Recovery:
Day 1:
No feeling on my face until about 2 hrs later. Cheeks + jaw area started to feel achey and slowly it became super achey. Pain was equivalent to getting punched + having huge ulcers on your cheeks. My threshold of pain is quite high but i had to take the painkillers to feel better. I believe that i did share with you all that Dr Pat told me there would be no pain, no swelling and no downtime for buccal fat removal, but i can say that i was disappointed becos i expected that. But there really is pain, swelling and your speech will be impaired becos of 2 chipmunk cheeks. I spoke with a lisp for 3 days. I couldnt open my mouth much to eat and chewing was a chore. but still ate lar, dun care.
Day 2:
More swelling, chipmunk cheeks was bigger. same level of pain but with painkillers, pain was tolerable. My both hands swelled in the area where the jab was given and there was very bad bruising.
Day 3:
Same level of swelling, less pain and better speech. better appetite and can eat more too.
Day 4:
Less swelling, less pain and almost normal speech.
Day 5:
No longer chipmunk cheeks but people close to you can tell that you have a problem with opening your mouth fully when you talk, and that there is swelling on cheeks. Bruises on hands are very bad and painful as well.
Day 6:
Normal speech, some parts of the stitches have dissolved and wound inside is healing. Still some swelling and pain when i pressed on my lower cheeks near jaw.
I'm now only at day 6. My face basically looks the same as before becos of the slight swelling, but I am wearing compression for face to reduce the swelling. It works so i definitely recommend it. I tried cold compress as well, not sure about the effects though. Also took lotsa vitamin C, pineapples and pineapple juice daily. Nurse told me to avoid all seafood, even fish. I use mouthwash after every meal to prevent infection (being paranoid). In summary, the downtime seems like 5 - 8 days from my own experience as well as Annakilly's. So better to meet people after this period.
Sorry for the long post
, I wanted to be as detailed as possible.
Hope it helps
