<Before Surgery>
Since I was young, I had a Class III malocclusion — my lower teeth covered my upper teeth, and I also had some crooked teeth. Because of that, I could never smile naturally in photos.
In school, people used to write on my farewell letters telling me to get jaw surgery, and I was often teased for my “protruding jaw.”
When I became an adult, I went to several orthodontic clinics to at least get braces, but most of them refused, saying I was a double jaw surgery case. The one clinic that finally accepted me turned out to be a dental clinic that later appeared on the news for malpractice… I ended up wasting both time and money.
After that, I went to a pre-surgery orthodontic clinic to prepare for double jaw surgery.
In my early 20s, I even had two teeth extracted in preparation — but as I continued visiting clinics for consultation, I suddenly became terrified of actually going through with it.
I kept thinking: “I’ve lived fine until now — do I really need to do this? I’m not a celebrity, my family isn’t well-off… maybe now just isn’t the right time.”
Eventually, I canceled the surgery, got dental implants, and finished my orthodontic treatment in my mid-20s.
Then I turned 30.
My jaw kept growing over time, and I started to experience relapse — my lower teeth were pushing over my upper teeth again. Taking photos was stressful; I always tried to cover my jaw or heavily edit my pictures.
Thinking about living the rest of my life with that jaw was unbearable. I decided I wanted to change — after all, we only live once.
My parents always opposed the idea, saying it was dangerous, even though I was paying for it myself.
But watching Dr. Seokjae Lee’s YouTube videos really helped me convince them. I showed the videos to my parents every day. With his extensive experience, I really felt I could trust him.
Plus, WHY Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery allows real-time CCTV viewing of the surgery and performs only one surgery per day, which gave me peace of mind.
During the consultation, Dr. Lee mentioned that my jawbone was thin, so he would use the IVRO method, which made me feel even more reassured.
One of the main reasons I chose WHY was that their philosophy — natural yet beautiful results — perfectly matched what I wanted.
Since I was already in my 30s, I didn’t want to overdo it. I asked for a natural look that would also prevent sagging.
I finally convinced my parents, and I underwent double jaw surgery + two-point contouring (square jaw + chin) at WHY Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
 
 
<Surgery Day>
I’m sure many of you have searched for “double jaw surgery prep list” online — but when I got to WHY, I was shocked!
They had literally prepared everything for me. The hospital room was spotless and comfortable, and I immediately felt that I made the right choice. Honestly, you could walk in empty-handed — they have everything ready!
I wasn’t nervous before, just excited to see the change — but once I entered the operating room, I suddenly started shaking like crazy. I was so tense that I kept talking instead of letting them start the anesthesia (sorry to the staff 😅).
The next thing I remember — someone asked, “Are you awake?” and I opened my eyes to find myself sitting on the hospital bed. My mom later told me it took a long time for me to wake up and that everyone worked hard. I felt like I was dreaming and drooling — basically, a deep nap.
When I realized, “Oh right, I had surgery… but I can’t talk,” I tried to stay alert.
I couldn’t sleep at all that night — and honestly, I was in pain. I’ve always been sensitive to pain and usually need strong medication, so it wasn’t easy.
But the nurses were absolutely amazing — constantly changing my ice packs and giving me pain relief.
Honestly, at WHY, you don’t even need a guardian — the nurses take care of you like family.
I’d heard that breathing is hard after double jaw surgery, but even knowing that, it was tougher than I imagined.
I almost panicked because I had once nearly drowned as a child, so the feeling of restricted breathing triggered that trauma.
One nurse stayed with me the entire night, holding my hand, reassuring me, guiding me to stay calm, and helping me breathe. I wanted to cry but held it in.
Another nurse helped keep me mentally strong whenever I started panicking — I truly couldn’t have endured without them.
I coughed, sneezed, and struggled with phlegm — they cared for me like a baby. I felt so sorry but deeply grateful.
That’s how the hardest first night passed.
 
 
<Day 1>
I couldn’t sleep at all and had to keep the oxygen mask for two days because of breathing difficulties. The staff did everything possible to make me comfortable — I was so touched.
At dawn, I got leg cramps, and the nurses massaged them for me. They really suffered with me that night.
They kept encouraging me, saying, “It will get better soon; we’ll remove the tubes and drains in the morning!” — and they were right.
By morning, I had my urinary catheter and blood drain removed (it didn’t hurt at all thanks to their gentle care!).
Hearing Dr. Lee say the surgery went well reassured me so much. I started walking a bit, which made breathing easier, and even managed to nap a little.
 
 
<Day 2, Discharged from the clinic>
I loved getting the morning de-swelling laser treatments — they helped me sleep so well.
By then, I was walking around the hospital easily and felt much better. Honestly, I didn’t want to leave because I’d grown so comfortable there 😆
After getting my discharge instructions, my dad came to drive me home. I felt my jaw slightly wobbling in the car, so I held it gently in place. Once home, I finally relaxed.
My routine was: drink New Care, take medicine, gargle — repeat.
 
 
<Day 4>
After going home, the swelling got much worse — I was shocked. My face puffed up so much that my tongue got caught between my wafer.
That was the last day I did cold compresses. The heat sensation was gone, but I still needed painkillers.
I couldn’t sleep well because of nasal congestion, so I mostly dozed off during the day.
My routine was just New Care, medicine, gargling, and hoping for the “1-week miracle” while watching anime 😅

<1 Week Post-op>
The swelling finally started to go down! Each day breathing through my nose became easier.
I still needed nasal spray to sleep, but it was progress.
Since brushing was hard, I only used mouthwash spray, but the clinic reminded me that brushing was important, so I started doing it carefully.
Double jaw surgery is really a battle against time — it gets better every single day!
I was sick of New Care, so I started having naengmyeon broth, dongchimi soup, galbitang broth, watermelon juice — literally any liquid I could find 😂
Still, living only on liquids made me weak.

<2 Weeks>
My weight dropped from 47kg to 42kg. Even though I couldn’t walk much from weakness, the swelling kept improving daily.
I was scared of stitch removal, but it didn’t hurt much — my swollen mouth just made opening difficult.
My lips cracked, so I started using Vaseline late 😅
I learned how to hook the rubber bands myself, but the swelling made it tough, and I bled a bit from the incision. The staff helped me for over an hour — I was so thankful.
Even after being able to remove the wafer, I couldn’t manage the bands well, so I stuck to liquids again for a few days.
Eventually, the swelling subsided, and I could replace the rubber bands by myself!

<3 Weeks>
The swelling reduced more and more, and I could move my facial muscles — what a relief!
I could eat porridge and soft noodles again, which made me so happy.
I tried to eat as much as possible to regain my energy. Even soft bread tasted like heaven.
I started sleeping normally again, deeply and comfortably.
Time passed faster now that I could do daily activities again.
<4 Weeks>
Just when I was getting used to it, I had my wafer removed!
It felt so freeing. I still had rubber bands, but now I could finally talk — what a joy!
I started eating more things, even soft meats like tonkatsu (crushed into tiny pieces 😆).
Chewing became easier, and I felt more stability in my jaw.
My face was still puffy, but I even went back to work — taking it easy since my stamina wasn’t fully back.
For the first time ever, I enjoyed looking at myself in the mirror and even liked my side profile!
Everyone kept telling me I looked great — it made me even happier.
I keep saying this is the start of my second life.
I’m so satisfied that I jokingly say I want to call Dr. Seokjae Lee my “dad” 😂
Even though it’s only been a month and the swelling hasn’t fully gone down, I’m already thrilled with the results.
Once all the swelling disappears, I know it’ll look completely natural — and I couldn’t be happier.