Facial contouring is a general term for plastic surgery such as “jaw angle cutting”, “cheekbone reduction” and “chin augmentation”. There are a lot of candidates who don’t know what to pay attention to after the surgery, and don’t know how to help recovery, which causes some trouble and even affects the recovery after the surgery.
So, here, Dr. Xu summarizes the post-operative points of attention and some of the questions patients often ask after surgery to help all the candidates get better surgical results.
Q: Dr. Xu, my surgery is done, but I often have a taste in my mouth, what should I do?
A: Facial contouring surgery is an intra-oral incision, and it is not easy for patients to open their mouths after surgery, thus neglecting the care of oral cleaning. This is to ensure fresh breath and good wound healing.
Q: Dr. Xu, how should we wear this headgear after surgery?
A: After the surgery is completed, we usually tell the candidates to wear the “840 headgear” to complete the pressure bandage on the face. A good pressure bandage is good for early swelling and late muscle reattachment, therefore, it is recommended to wear the headgear for a long time in January after surgery, you can relax it for 20 minutes every 2 hours; after January, you can adjust it according to the recovery situation wearing time.
Q: Dr. Xu, the surgery went well and the swelling went down smoothly, but I am so hungry, what should I do?
A: Because of the intra-oral incision, in order to ensure the smooth healing of the surgical wound, we need to be more cautious about the diet, generally speaking, the post-operative diet should be light, rest should be sufficient, avoid spicy tobacco and alcohol and strenuous; early mainly liquid diet, but also can be chopped food into a spoon delivery; from 2 weeks onwards can be semi-liquid diet (noodles, wonton skin, etc.); from 4 weeks onwards can enter the normal diet, starting from So, if you have been drinking soup for half a month, change the recipe as required.
Q: Dr. Xu, it’s been half a month since the surgery, but I can’t open my mouth now, what should I do?
A: Due to the swelling of the bite muscle after the jaw angle surgery, the mouth opening is small in the early stage, as the swelling goes down, the mouth opening gradually becomes bigger, it is recommended to start the mouth opening training from 2 to 3 weeks after the surgery, from small to big, gradually open up until the mouth opening size is about two and a half fingers.
Q: Dr. Xu, when can I brush my teeth, I feel uncomfortable without brushing?
A: Generally 3 weeks after the surgery, when the incision is well recovered, you can brush your teeth, but you should use a soft bristle brush and only brush your teeth without touching the gums, because the gums are very fragile for 3 months after the surgery, so it is easy to touch and bleed.
Q: Dr. Xu, will there be any infection after the surgery is done? What should I do if it gets infected?
A: Don’t worry, after paying attention to what I mentioned above, the probability of infection after facial contouring is actually very low, but if the following conditions occur, you need to be alert: local redness, swelling, heat and pain, refusal to touch and touch; foul-smelling yellow pus coming out of the mouth; swelling not reduced, but increased. If you have such a situation, contact Dr. Xu in time, and deal with it promptly, it will not affect the recovery.
Q: Dr. Xu, it’s been half a month since the surgery, but why does my face look a little crooked?
A: Don’t worry, a senior craniofacial surgeon is very precise in grasping the amount of bone cut, and the protection of nerves is also in place, while the size of the mouth is crooked on both sides of the face after surgery, in fact, a large part of the reason is due to the different speed of swelling on both sides.
Q: Dr. Xu, after the jaw angle surgery, the corners of the mouth and chin are numb, what should I do?
A: For surgery involving the jaw, due to the inevitable nerve pull during surgery, the numbness in the early stage will gradually recover over time under our good protection of the nerve.
Q: Dr. Xu, the surgery has been done for more than a month and the result is very good and beautiful, but a few days ago, I felt a little swollen again after going out to a friend’s party and having fun, what should I do?
A: Among the cosmetic surgeries, facial contouring is a relatively large type of surgery, and the rest after surgery is also more important. Therefore, excessive fatigue is not allowed for three months, and rest during menstruation, if the swelling is mildly recurrent, you can take oral antibiotics and contact your doctor in time.