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Hi everyone! Yesterday, I had my chin implant...
Hi everyone! Yesterday, I had my chin implant procedure with Dr Yaremchuk in Boston. I'm not comfortable sharing photos, but I thought I give you a few words on my situation.
Background:
I have always wanted a stronger and fuller lower face particularly in the chin and jaw area. I did a lot of research online and on messageboards to find out more about possible solutions. I have to say I was bewildered by the number of opinions and options. Of the possibilities, I considered chin implant, jaw implant, and sliding genioplasty.
Dr Yaremchuk:
Five years ago, I emailed Dr Yaremchuk about options. I had read great reviews of him on messageboards, and I was also impressed with his credentials. He's trained as both a craniofacial surgeon and a plastic surgeon. He's also Chief of Craniofacial Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr Yaremchuk emailed me back promptly and we started an email exchange about options including chin implant alone, chin + jaw implant, and osteotomy + jaw implant. The timing and financials weren't right for me at the time, so I didn't go through with it. This year, I decided to email him again about going ahead with a chin implant or a sliding genioplasty. I wasn't sure what option, but I knew I wanted chin augmentation, so I booked a surgery appointment for April. Since I live in California, I also booked an in-person pre-surgery consultation a day before the surgery.
Traveling to Boston:
On April 1st, I took a redeye flight from California to Boston. In retrospect this was a terrible idea, since my hotel's check-in time is 4pm, and I arrived in Boston at around 8am. Fortunately, the hotel was able to get a room for me around noon, and I was able to get a couple hours of sleep before my consultation with Dr. Y.
In-person pre-surgery consultation:
On Wednesday, I arrived at Dr Y's office at 3:30pm, but was not seen until 4:30pm. On Wednesdays, he works at Mass General, so his schedule is apparently quite packed. Meeting Dr. Y in person was fun after several years of email exchanges. I found him very personable and likeable with a great bedside manner. I was immediately comfortable. When he saw me, he instantly said that my chin was not too small! It was quite funny to me. He understood that I wanted to have a little more fullness and projection. After analyzing and measuring my face, he thought a chin implant would give the best result over a more aggressive procedure such as sliding genioplasty. We carefully walked through the various complications with osteotomies, and I was convinced a chin implant was the way to go. It happened to be the least expensive option. Dr. Y does osteotomies and aggressive procedures all the time, so I really appreciated that he didn't try to sell me up on those procedures. By the way, Dr Y uses medpor implants instead of silicone. He custom carves them, and attaches them with screws so they don't move around.
Surgery:
The surgery was performed at the Boston Center, which is about a 5-10 minute drive from Mass General. They have Uber in Boston, so it was pretty easy to get a ride there. The nurses at the Boston Center were great. I loved the East Coast directness combined with a general niceness and lack of judgement. I changed into a hospital gown and stocking, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and waited for another surgery before mine to finish. An anesthesiologist named Dr Brent Young briefed on the anesthesia, which involved an IV of drugs. I was glad to hear I would be breathing on my own, and not with a breathing machine. When it became time for surgery, Dr Y took a couple of photos. Then I was administered the IV. I don't remember much after that.
Immediately after surgery:
I woke up feeling like I had a really deep sleep with dreams, although I don't remember the dreams—this was different than how I woke up after getting my tonsils out, which felt like no time had passed at all. My chin area was bound with compression bandages, and the nurse wrapped my head in an icepack. I was surprised I could feel both my lips and teeth. I read that some people have numbness after the surgery. Also the pain was not very bad, just sore. I was a little bit nauseous, but the nurse gave me some oatmeal which really helped. After about an hour, I became more lucid and less nauseous, so I was ready to get dressed. The nurse then escorted me to the Uber and was very sweet to tell tell the driver to take care of me during the ride. The drive assumed I had dental surgery, which was convenient in that I didn't have to explain very much. Note: some people choose to stay overnight at the Boston Center, but Dr Y at my consultation didn't think I needed to. The nurses say a lot of younger people choose to just go to a hotel or back home after the surgery. It turned out to be cheaper for me this way, too.
Day 1 after surgery:
Today, the swelling is pretty mild. I barely feel any pain, so I am not taking pain meds. I have my head wrapped with an ice-pack to keep the swelling down, but other than, I am just taking it easy. Since I'm bandaged up, it's hard for me to see the actual result, but I think it's little pretty good! I'm eating yogurt for food, which is a bit hard, because I forgot to get a spoon! Later this afternoon, I will likely run to Whole Foods, which is nearby to get something more substantive. I still have my bandages, but I think most people will assume I had dental surgery like the Uber driver. Or maybe they'll think I just got into a bike accident. Regardless, I'm not as worried about being seen as I thought I'd be.
Notes:
I ran into some pitfalls coming from out of town for surgery. Here's some things you should keep in mind:
- Pain medication prescriptions can be difficult to fill. Dr Y's assistant, Margie, had mailed me a prescription for Percocet a month ahead of time to fill. Since it's out-of-state, my pharmacist in California wouldn't fill it. When I got to Boston and tried to fill it, they wouldn't fill it because the prescription was a month old! It got sorted out, but it's best to get a recent prescription in the same state for pain meds.
- Don't take a redeye. I can't sleep on planes, it was pretty terrible.
- Book your hotel in advanced. To save money, I used Hotel Tonight for last minute booking. But it can be annoying, because if you use it for subsequent nights, you basically have to recheck-in every morning. I finally ended up finding a good deal on Hotels.com for my remaining stay.
Background:
I have always wanted a stronger and fuller lower face particularly in the chin and jaw area. I did a lot of research online and on messageboards to find out more about possible solutions. I have to say I was bewildered by the number of opinions and options. Of the possibilities, I considered chin implant, jaw implant, and sliding genioplasty.
Dr Yaremchuk:
Five years ago, I emailed Dr Yaremchuk about options. I had read great reviews of him on messageboards, and I was also impressed with his credentials. He's trained as both a craniofacial surgeon and a plastic surgeon. He's also Chief of Craniofacial Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr Yaremchuk emailed me back promptly and we started an email exchange about options including chin implant alone, chin + jaw implant, and osteotomy + jaw implant. The timing and financials weren't right for me at the time, so I didn't go through with it. This year, I decided to email him again about going ahead with a chin implant or a sliding genioplasty. I wasn't sure what option, but I knew I wanted chin augmentation, so I booked a surgery appointment for April. Since I live in California, I also booked an in-person pre-surgery consultation a day before the surgery.
Traveling to Boston:
On April 1st, I took a redeye flight from California to Boston. In retrospect this was a terrible idea, since my hotel's check-in time is 4pm, and I arrived in Boston at around 8am. Fortunately, the hotel was able to get a room for me around noon, and I was able to get a couple hours of sleep before my consultation with Dr. Y.
In-person pre-surgery consultation:
On Wednesday, I arrived at Dr Y's office at 3:30pm, but was not seen until 4:30pm. On Wednesdays, he works at Mass General, so his schedule is apparently quite packed. Meeting Dr. Y in person was fun after several years of email exchanges. I found him very personable and likeable with a great bedside manner. I was immediately comfortable. When he saw me, he instantly said that my chin was not too small! It was quite funny to me. He understood that I wanted to have a little more fullness and projection. After analyzing and measuring my face, he thought a chin implant would give the best result over a more aggressive procedure such as sliding genioplasty. We carefully walked through the various complications with osteotomies, and I was convinced a chin implant was the way to go. It happened to be the least expensive option. Dr. Y does osteotomies and aggressive procedures all the time, so I really appreciated that he didn't try to sell me up on those procedures. By the way, Dr Y uses medpor implants instead of silicone. He custom carves them, and attaches them with screws so they don't move around.
Surgery:
The surgery was performed at the Boston Center, which is about a 5-10 minute drive from Mass General. They have Uber in Boston, so it was pretty easy to get a ride there. The nurses at the Boston Center were great. I loved the East Coast directness combined with a general niceness and lack of judgement. I changed into a hospital gown and stocking, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and waited for another surgery before mine to finish. An anesthesiologist named Dr Brent Young briefed on the anesthesia, which involved an IV of drugs. I was glad to hear I would be breathing on my own, and not with a breathing machine. When it became time for surgery, Dr Y took a couple of photos. Then I was administered the IV. I don't remember much after that.
Immediately after surgery:
I woke up feeling like I had a really deep sleep with dreams, although I don't remember the dreams—this was different than how I woke up after getting my tonsils out, which felt like no time had passed at all. My chin area was bound with compression bandages, and the nurse wrapped my head in an icepack. I was surprised I could feel both my lips and teeth. I read that some people have numbness after the surgery. Also the pain was not very bad, just sore. I was a little bit nauseous, but the nurse gave me some oatmeal which really helped. After about an hour, I became more lucid and less nauseous, so I was ready to get dressed. The nurse then escorted me to the Uber and was very sweet to tell tell the driver to take care of me during the ride. The drive assumed I had dental surgery, which was convenient in that I didn't have to explain very much. Note: some people choose to stay overnight at the Boston Center, but Dr Y at my consultation didn't think I needed to. The nurses say a lot of younger people choose to just go to a hotel or back home after the surgery. It turned out to be cheaper for me this way, too.
Day 1 after surgery:
Today, the swelling is pretty mild. I barely feel any pain, so I am not taking pain meds. I have my head wrapped with an ice-pack to keep the swelling down, but other than, I am just taking it easy. Since I'm bandaged up, it's hard for me to see the actual result, but I think it's little pretty good! I'm eating yogurt for food, which is a bit hard, because I forgot to get a spoon! Later this afternoon, I will likely run to Whole Foods, which is nearby to get something more substantive. I still have my bandages, but I think most people will assume I had dental surgery like the Uber driver. Or maybe they'll think I just got into a bike accident. Regardless, I'm not as worried about being seen as I thought I'd be.
Notes:
I ran into some pitfalls coming from out of town for surgery. Here's some things you should keep in mind:
- Pain medication prescriptions can be difficult to fill. Dr Y's assistant, Margie, had mailed me a prescription for Percocet a month ahead of time to fill. Since it's out-of-state, my pharmacist in California wouldn't fill it. When I got to Boston and tried to fill it, they wouldn't fill it because the prescription was a month old! It got sorted out, but it's best to get a recent prescription in the same state for pain meds.
- Don't take a redeye. I can't sleep on planes, it was pretty terrible.
- Book your hotel in advanced. To save money, I used Hotel Tonight for last minute booking. But it can be annoying, because if you use it for subsequent nights, you basically have to recheck-in every morning. I finally ended up finding a good deal on Hotels.com for my remaining stay.
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
170 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Massachusetts