I woke up this morning feeling very tight and swollen. I went and looked in the mirror and noticed my neck was moderately puffed up. I have to admit, for the first time since my surgery, I was a little bit concerned. Not only was my neck feeling swollen, but also my chin and bottom lip. I have not felt the swelling this severe since having my surgery 9 days ago. A few things flicked through my mind, including a bad infection, or my body has decided to reject my chin implant. I was deciding on whether to call the Surgery Office and have the nurse check me out. I figured I may need a new dose of anti-biotics. But after calming down a little I came to my senses and realised that swelling is just all a part of the healing process. I did not have a fever, which would indicate an infection. I guess what really threw me off, was the fact that the swelling kicked in on day 9. I figured after day 3, the swelling would gradually decline. Let this be a lesson to everyone that the human healing process is not always progressive. Each individual heals differently, and I do not believe their is an exact science to the healing process. I will keep an eye on my swelling, and if I do believe it to be abnormal, I will definitely contact my nurse.

If there is one thing I can recommend for those who are considering neck lipo, is purchase two compression garments, not just one. This way while garment ”one” is being washed, you can wear garment “two”. Also, it spreads the work load on each compression garment. Mine is starting to become frayed, and I am sure it is losing its elasticity. This is from repeated washing, and time in the dryer. 

The garment itself is not super annoying, but at the same time I would prefer not to wear it. But I have to admit, the one night I did not wear it to bed, I woke up the next morning with more swelling than normal. So I am back to wearing it religiously. As for how long to wear the Compression Garment? I really don’t know. Some surgeons suggest the first few days after surgery. Others say 6 weeks. Reading through the documents provided by my surgeon, he suggests wearing the garment for 4 weeks. He also suggested that “Postoperative massage of the areas that have been suctioned either by yourself or a trained massage therapist available  at many beauty salons is far more likely to be effective in diminishing swelling and prompting the quickest return to desired body contour”

My Face/Neck Compression Garment (Day of Surgery)

Swelling directly under the chin (the double chin area) has been more noticable in the past couple of days, compared to the first week after surgery. I am guessing this is normal and a part of the healing process. It is kind of annoying because it is starting to look like my double chin is making an unwelcome come back. But I can tell it is swelling, as it feels very tight and hard. My old double chin was nice and soft Like my surgeon said, I will not see the final results until 6-12 months after surgery. So I will just have to be patiant. Apart from the under chin swelling, no other major dramas to report. I am still very happy with how things are going.

Wow…2 weeks already! And as you can see from the photos, the healing process is going well. There are no longer any signs of bruising, which is a good thing when going out in public. I am still feeling quite swollen around the areas that we’re lipo suctioned (under chin/neck).  I am also starting to feel random lumps and hardness in the same area, this I was expecting eventually. My new chin is holding up pretty well, with only the left side feeling slightly numb. As for the buccal fat pad removal, I keep forgetting I even had this procedure. There is zero pain, tightness or discomfort coming from this area now. The only remaining evidence of the buccal pad extraction is the small incisions I can feel inside my mouth with my tongue.

I have tried my best to keep the before and after photo’s as similar as possible. But due to things like facial hair, hair cuts, head tilt, lighting, each photo can be a little different. But overall, you still get the general idea of how things are progressing.

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