Is this normal or have I really screwed up my face?

[shutmymouth]

I had my surgery 1 week ago today, and I understand that there's lots of swelling. But a large portion of my swelling has gone down. (my face was as at one time 2x this size) The thing is while the swelling has gone down my "new" features are staying the same. I have looked at blogs and haven't seen anyone with this amount of distortion in their face. I had a 2pc lefort I.


My before pictures (I liked my face before just wanted to fix my smile and bite) You can see my chin jutting out.




My Rare smile only ever taken at this precise angle:



After Surger

(please excuse the food at the neck. I guess I'm still spilling)

[mamaneedsanewjaw]

Please don't worry! there is still a TON of swelling at one week post op- in fact at my 5 month post op he told me I still have *slight* residual swelling. I know it is hard but one week post op I still didn't even feel well enough to get out of bed so you are already doing great!

Hang in there!

[hduggan]

I know the swelling has gone down some, but you're still obviously really puffed up. My son didn't begin to look even slightly normal until 3 or 4 weeks out, and he didn't start to look "handsome" until I saw him this last visit (about 3 months out).

It looks like your nose wasn't very affected (which is the one thing that can unexpectedly change). Everything in your cheeks and upper lip is totally distorted still by the swelling.

The one thing that will start to show, even this early, is a change in your profile. Ignore how your profile looks around the upper lip, because that will be all puffed up still, but you can start to see the change in the relation between your chin and the rest of your face in profile.

[IWantNewSmile]

You are a really pretty girl.

I think you will have to wait, like the others are saying your face looks swollen, once it goes down I am pretty sure you'll go back to your pretty self.

[qwertz1]

although I dont think I would have risked surgery in your case, you are still visibly swollen, and not only residual swelling.
your upper lip, your cheeks...this will go away within the next 2 weeks, maybe 4.

the residual swelling that can take months is much less visible than yours right now.

[bracedfaced]

although I dont think I would have risked surgery in your case, you are still visibly swollen, and not only residual swelling.
your upper lip, your cheeks...this will go away within the next 2 weeks, maybe 4.

the residual swelling that can take months is much less visible than yours right now.

qwertz1, why would you not have risked surgery in her case? She's been told since she was 10 years old that she needs this surgery and she has problems chewing, etc. She definitely was a candidate for this surgery. I wonder why you think she shouldn't have done it?

shutmymouth, I know it is hard to deal with right now but I think you just need to be patient. You look like a chimpmunk right now but everyone does at one week out... You are definitely swollen and will be for some time so I think it is premature to get upset over your "new look". To me, it looks like your top half of your face will look the same and your bottom jaw was pushed back, your chin looks smaller. Your after picture breaks my heart because you look so sad. No worries, hun, stay positive and be patient. I think you will be really happy in the end, you just need to give it more time for the swelling to subside. At least 2 more weeks, if not 3.

[hduggan]

I think the surgery is especially hard for people who are happy with their appearance beforehand. For my son, his jaw was so odd/deformed that he was miserable with how he looked. He didn't even ask to see the projected "after" pictures - he just figured that anything that fixed his jaw would make his face look better.

But, if you're happy with how you look, it's harder going through the recovery and the unexpected changes.

[qwertz1]

qwertz1, why would you not have risked surgery in her case?

something along the line of what hduggan said.
I know several patients who have good results but they are still unhappy with it because they looked almost perfect before, and something minor they liked changed.
so it is higher risk in these cases. or harder, if there was no way around the surgery.

but I wanna stress that I do NOT think this is what happened here. "shutmymouth" is just still swollen.

[suzanna]

shutmymouth, you're gorgeous! Don't be so hard on yourself right now! 1 week is still so early to start being upset about the outcome of your surgery. I didn't start looking "normal" until like 3-4 weeks out. I'm 7 weeks now and am really happy with the results. I even went out with a bunch of work friends last night (most of whom I haven't seen since before surgery) and recieved so many compliments! One of the guys even kept asking my friend if I had cosmetic surgery or had a nose job, both of which I would take as a compliment since most people have that stuff to look better LOL

There were a lot of times early on (within the first 3 weeks or so), where I thought to myself "omg what have I done??" because my lips looked all crazy and uneven or my face looked so strange (depending on how the swelling was that day). Just be patient! Once the majority of the swelling goes down, I'm sure you'll be just as pretty as before, if not more!

[I love my teeth]

I agree with Suzanna--

you are beautiful!! I have read there can be residual swelling for up to 6months......I am 10weeks out and I know I still have swelling (not to mention, swelling I don't know I have!!).......I have been seeing an acupuncturist 1x/week and each week she assesses the swelling, ect. Some weeks I think I look great, she says she notices extra swelling, some weeks she thinks I look great!! I think it varies!

I can only see now almost 3months out what my profile might look like

I was not unhappy with how I looked before--I only didn't like my smile, as my front teeth were really crooked. I had a huge overjet, not noticable in pics, but I really didn't care too much about it.......I have compared before and after pics, and I see differences, but to me not dramatic...my sister just saw some after pics (first ones she's seen!)===she said huge difference in my smile and face....much better she thought.

Please give it time!

[shutmymouth]

Thankyou everyone! I appreciate the support yall are offering.

I guess I was having a bad day. I'm soooo ready for the swelling to go down. I'm already going on 2+ mile walks and I'm hoping like crazy my surgeon will let start doing the eliptical next week. So needless to say I'm feeling great!

There's some residual nasal congestion that is driving me BONKERS!

Thank you again to everyone my mother has been saying the same thing but it is far more reassuring to hear it from someone that has been through it. I hope after I'm done to come back and help others.


Note: Except for qweretz, sorry dude that's just rude. My sister who is a model (and doesn't have an underbite) Taught me how to take pictures and smile so that my underbite isn't so obvious. Like "I love my teeth" I had horribly crooked teeth and a 6.5mm underjet with a cross bite. I liked my face but I just looked forward to the day when I could smile in pictures, eat a hamburger or sandwhich without having to wear the contents on my clothes because of my underbite, & be able to go a day without chewing gum or chewing on a straw to relieve the tension in my jaw. I will say that right now maybe the coolest thing is that I can close my mouth and there is ZERO tension in my jaw joints. It's pretty nice.

[qwertz1]

if your pics and my lack of knowledge about your functional problems dont represent your case properly I take back the "I dont think I would have taken the risk in your case"-comment.

everything else was just an answer to a question I was asked and not directly related to you.

[keeponsmiling]

I think you look absolutely terrific! In your before photos I think we could have been forgiven for thinking that it's you who's the model, not your sister! (Which could be why quertz queried you having surgery) Sure you're still swollen now, and in that post-surgery state where you probably can't eat or sleep very well everything seems ten times worse and you're bound to be more emotional about it all. From what everyone else has said though, you'll soon see the swelling reduce and can look forward to smiling away and having as many photos, from as many angles! as you please. Oh, and as many slices of pizza, bites of sandwiches etc as you like without having to worry about chunks of food falling out - I can't wait for that day!!!

[bracedfaced]

I think qwertz1 was giving u a compliment more than anything!

I am pre-surgery right now. My date is may 11th. No turning back for me now! But I have been concerned about how I am going to handle the cosmetic changes. I am generally happy with my appearance. I feel like I am a pretty girl who happens to have a goofy gummy smile when I laugh. So I hope my changes are minimal.

Please keep us posted on your progress. Pretty, pretty please post some more pics in the coming weeks. Or PM me and i'll give u my email address. I'd be very grateful!

[shutmymouth]

updated pictures. I appologize if I'm using this as my own blog but the face thing is pretty scary to me and I have a tendency to over analyze and worry over all sorts of things: