I'm incredibly happy with the aesthetic results of a combination rhinoplasty and genioplasty, but I'm experiencing some issues.
Right after the surgery, I had numbness on the bottom of my chin, which has been subsiding slowly.
From 4-5 weeks after surgery, the left side where the implant met my bone felt sore, and I wondered if it was infected. It hurt when I pushed inward on the left side, and not when pushed on the right. From 5-6 weeks after, it started to hurt more. It felt like the pattern of numbness and pain was shifting as the healing progressed. At 6 weeks, the left side of the chin was entirely numb.
Now, at almost 7 weeks in, the left side of the chin is numb (not the lower lip, but occasionally it gets a tiny bit numb.) I feel pain on the left side when I open my mouth wide, yawn, or sneeze, and especially when I flex my lower jaw (like in the process of frowning.) When I push on the numb part I feel light soreness. When I squeeze the front-left of the chin towards the center (i.e. putting my finger on the front-left and pushing in towards the center) I feel a sharp pain just to the left of the middle, and the numbness sometimes gets stronger. When I push outwards, I don't feel any pain.
I asked my surgeon and he shrugged it off, saying numbness rarely starts this late. It feels like the healing is impacting the nerve, and my hope is that it will settle and then go away. I'm wondering if I should see a neurologist, do any massaging, or do nothing — and what are the chances that this will go away on its own?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!