Metal Mouth Message Board

Oh. I am trying to tell myself it's only been 8 days. Much of the swelling has gone, bruising a nice yellow hue, and splint making me look more forward to having that out of there than I ever thought possible.

I had lower jaw and upper jaw, and both were advanced, and upper Lefort 1 also widened palate. When I look at my profile, it looks awful. Also my lips are ocean. Not symmetrical. It's like one side droops a little.

I am aware that swelling will affect all this BUT I think most of my swelling is gone.

What was your experience with all this hope and whatever . . . how long past surgery might it take to know for sure this is what it's going to look like. I'm upset. But, I CAN breathe which is why this was being done really. I am so upset about how I look.

I saw a post on here one time of someone's pics at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 4 months, and 8 months. Or something about like that. She posted it just to prove how much the swelling continues to go down. It was remarkable how different she was at 4 weeks then at 8 months. I just went looking and I couldn't find it, unfortunately.

Anyway, Definitely don't stress about your looks at this point. I promise you are still swollen. I thought mine had gone down by that point, and now I'm at 5 weeks. I look a lot different. Honestly, I bet I'm still swollen. I know I wake up in the mornings looking ugly, though it improves dramatically in an hour or two.

Keep on truckin', and don't freak out yet.

Don't panic!...what you're going through is apparently quite normal. I am now 8 weeks post op and I had the exact same thing and just like you, I panicked. My face has changed considerably in this time and the "planet of the apes" look is almost gone now. Surgeons should warn patients a little more about how long it takes for the face to settle.It's not just about swelling. My surgeon explained that all the muscles in the face will gradually pull the bones into place over time.
Some people go through the surgery and immediately love their new look, but in many cases the new look can be rather abnormal for a while.
I am getting to love my new look gradually over time as it balances out and becomes normal.

At 8 days, it will seem like the swelling is gone, but trust me, it's no where near gone. I felt like I had a snout for weeks after my SARPE. I know it feels like most of the swelling is gone, but trust me, it's most likely residual swelling that's causing this protruded look.

After a few of months, the swelling had gone down enough that I no longer felt like I had a snout, and I look basically normal now 7-8 months later (can't believe it's been that long!!). I look different than I did before, but normal.

Anyway, bottom line, 8 days is way too soon to start being really critical. If you still hate your appearance in a few months, then maybe it's time to talk to the surgeon. Even then, they will probably tell you all of the swelling won't be gone for at least 6 months, and they will re-evaluate after that.