Submental Liposuction and ("Medial") Platysmaplasty (or "anterior cervicoplasty") on 35 Year Old Male - Louisville, KY

I think things are going well. The draining tube was taken out Wednesday the 28th and the nurse who did that for me went ahead and took out all the stitches as well. One thing I didn't mention was that besides the neck procedures, I had the doctor remove a bump/mole on the side of my nose. That had a stitch or two as well. My neck was a bit yellow in a large area at the time the stitches were removed. Now, 10 days post op, the yellow-ness is only a small area at the base of my neck (top of chest) which seems strange to me because I don't think the liposuction went that far down and there was never any soreness there. Anyways, I am still numb in the triangle of my chin area. I think that numb area is perhaps a little smaller than it used to be. I also still feel tightness there, but I am growing more and more used to that.

In the morning of the 29th I completely stopped taking the Oxycodone-acetaminophen (also hand-labeled as Percocet) pills and in the evening I got a headache, light fever, and nausea that I am almost sure was from the withdrawal of the drug. I took just one Tylenol/acetaminophen pill to deal with the headache and that was the last pain pill I took. (Note: Before the surgery I avoided pain medication, only taking 1 aspirin for a rare headache.) I was also super exhausted for the next several days that I partial attribute to the withdrawal as well.

One thing that gets me a bit now is that I am not supposed to lift weights. The nurse said on the 28th that I could walk on the treadmill but I should avoid weight lifting for another couple of weeks. Before the surgery I lifted weights about every other day, 7 times every 2 weeks. Being the new year and all, I feel like I am off to a bad start fitness-wise. I have lost weight and I can tell that I have lost some muscle volume in my arms. I am probably already pushing against the rules by doing some lighter exercises like pull ups and push ups, starting today. My next check-up is with the doctor on the 4th.

So one thing that has surprised me is the lack of pain I have felt. I was taking Oxycodon-acetaminophen every 4 hours until recently. I thought I might start feeling more intense pain by increasing the time between taking the Oxycodone pills, but really I have not felt any serious pain. My neck is definitely numb. I had read that this was to be expected. I have read that some will temporarily loose some control of their lower facial muscle (and get a crooked smile) but this only happened to me in the slightest way. My chin feels a tiny bit strange when I try to make a very dramatic frown, but my smile is fine. I am pretty sure I will make a full recovery nerve-wise. The first thing I noticed after surgery was how "tight" my neck felt, particularly when I swallowed, but now I hardly notice any "tightness" and I think that will get even better as the swelling continues to go down. Things are a bit "itchier" today. I wear the stretchy band around my head all day. I am very eager to take the draining tube out, but that is scheduled to happen on Wednesday (4 days from now).

My entire adult life I have never been happy with the contour of my chin and neck except perhaps when I was at such a low weight that I was unhappy with my weight (being scrawny). Even at my ideal weight (slim), my neck would accumulate fat in a way that would create a virtually non-existent jawline eventhough I do not have a weak jaw or chin. I always liked the look of a strong, contoured jawline, but I have known for many years that to get one, I'd have to consider a cosmetic procedure. It has been about 15 years that I have seriously wanted to do the procedures that I finally did. .. more info to come.