43 Years Old, Chin Implant and Lipo - Encinitas, CA

I am happy with my new chin and jaw line. Over the last two years I've spent a lot of money to "fix" the things I was most self-conscious about: first orthodontics, then my chin, then a little filler in my tear troughs (no before/after photos of that). I am by no means a super model but everything about my face that I didn't like is now corrected and I'm absolutely thrilled. It has made me more confident and I think people notice that more than the physical changes.

All the inflammation finally went down and I am used to my new look. For a while I felt like Jay Leno. I've also lost some weight since the last photos so my whole face is leaner.

I was self-conscious about my profile for as long as I can remember. It has only gotten worse as I've gotten older, gained a little weight and suffered the effects of gravity. I finally found a surgeon I liked and trusted and scheduled my procedure for January 15. A week before I started taking Arnica to prevent bruising. I didn't tell anyone what I was doing and I wanted to drive myself so I chose local anesthesia, not even Valium. I was anxious but in a good way. My appointment was on January 15. Dr. Laverson started the injections to numb the area all along my jaw line and very quickly I was ready to go. He started with lipo and it wasn't bad at all. I expected something that sounded like a shop-vac but it was just him with the cannula. I didn't feel anything and the sound reminded me of the sound of cutting fabric. I will share this next part because it is an important part of my experience, but I don't want it to scare anyone because it's rare. He used hyaluronidase with the numbing medications, which is very common. Unfortunately we learned that I am very sensitive to it - not allergic - sensitive. I was numb up to my eyes, down to my chest and around my neck, which sounds like a good thing. The problem was my throat was numb and I couldn't swallow or speak, so at one point some saliva went down my throat and I choked. He of course was very concerned and I couldn't tell him what was wrong because I couldn't speak! It seemed like forever but it was only a matter of seconds before he figured it out. When I finally stopped choking and caught my breath he stopped the procedure, which, while frustrating for me, was the right thing to do. It took about 2 hours to be able to swallow and speak again. Because I was so numb I couldn't spit either, so he gave me a stack of gauze to keep clearing out my mouth. He said he got about 70% of what he wanted and that might actually be plenty, and he very graciously agreed to finish on the 17th, a Saturday. The rest of "lipo day" was a little painful but nothing I couldn't tolerate with a little codeine. Friday, the day after, I was sore but had no pain at all.
Saturday the 17th I went back for the chin implant. Keep in mind my entire jawline is very sore from the lipo! He numbed me again but only in the chin area and of course didn't use the hyaluronidase. Everything was fine and I was calm, but as he made the incision and cauterized, the smell of burning flesh was a little disturbing but I can talk myself through anything so it was fine. He started with a large implant which I was afraid would be too big but I trust him. When he stuffed it into the pocket he had to press really hard to make sure it was seated correctly, which meant he was using my jaw for leverage and it was crazy sore from the lipo so that was awful. He gave me another injection to help with that. He decided the implant was too big so he took it out, trimmed it, then stuffed it back in, again with the pressing and sore jaw. I survived it, he stitched me up and I was on my way home.
The pain started before I even left his office. I assumed it was because my already sore jaw was irritated during this procedure. By the time I got home I was in a lot of pain. I have a pretty high pain threshold; I'm sure everyone says that. I had the Tylenol 3/codeine from the lipo and took the max dose but it barely dulled the pain. My expectation was that I'd have manageable pain for the first day or so then just be sore. I had excruciating pain the rest of Saturday, all day Sunday and into Monday, so bad I couldn't sleep more than an hour at a time. On Monday I went back to his office and he gave me a prescription for Percocet which saved my life! By Friday I was able to get through it with plain old ibuprofen.
I continued taking the arnica throughout all this. It has been a month today and I am STILL bruised. I don't blame Dr. Laverson for that. I have always bruised easily and the arnica didn't work for me. I think the majority of the swelling is gone but I still have a really hard lump under my chin and a couple of hard lumps along my jaw line. He says that will go away over the next six months. That's a longer recovery than I expected but six months is nothing compared to all the years I've waited for this. I don't expect much change from week to week so I'll add more pictures at the 3 and 6 month mark, but I've uploaded several pictures to show my progress. I apologize for the photo quality, I'm not a pro with selfies and cropping.
Overall I'm happy with it. Sometimes I think my chin is too big but it is symmetrical, I just have to get used to having a chin. My jaw line is greatly improved as well but I want to wait until I'm fully recovered to decide if I need more lipo, which wasn't bad and I'd do it again. The chin implant was much more painful than I had expected and in the week following the procedure I would have said it wasn't worth it. I'm still sore but don't need to take anything for pain. I don't know how long I should be sore. I thought it would be normal by now, but that is probably foolish.