On April 10, I had reverse sliding genioplasty... Set-back genioplasty... Chin reduction surgery... Please chop off this pointy chin surgery!! I found a wonderful maxillofacial surgeon in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. The consult was around $600 which included a 360 degree xray, CT scan and some other xray. Expensive, but I liked that the surgeon was thorough in his analysis of my chin before agreeing to work on it. The surgery itself was around $6000. For the record, I'm a 37 year-old female.
First week: Pain was pretty intense. I stayed on top of my meds, every 4 hours. Could barely open my mouth. Mostly drank Ensure and blended soups. I swished with saltwater and brushed my teeth with a baby brush and baby toothpaste. Worst part was the hunger. The feeling in my bottom lip was back by day 3 so I knew there wasn't nerve damage. phew.
Second week: I was able to open my mouth a bit more and was able to eat mashed potatoes and eggs, soft-types of foods. I found that putting the food on a knife and then sliding it into my mouth worked well. Dr confirmed that I have lopsided swelling (left side worse). Dr also said that I don't need to worry about ripping open my incision anymore.
Third week: Starting to freak out about my chin. Constant worry if it was going to look good after the swelling has gone down. Major drama and sleepless nights.
Fourth week: Can move lips pretty good, but I lisp. I have a lopsided smile from the swelling. Am really working on lip movement by sounding out vowels, smiling and doing goofy things with my lips.
Fifth week: Meet up with friends who didn't know I had surgery. No one noticed! It was a huge relief that my changes were subtle and not disfiguring (see week three).
Sixth week: I am starting to like my chin. Boyfriend thinks the surgery has "softened" the appearance of my face. Yay, good man! Bottom teeth are still numb, they feel "tight". I still lisp a bit.
Seventh week: See pictures below (still a bit swollen). Tomorrow I will see a friend who's known me for 10 years. I can't wait to see what she thinks.
![Image](http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r184/annamarie_023/chin/7wkb.jpg)
![Image](http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r184/annamarie_023/chin/7wk3.jpg)