Lip Reduction After Waiting for 5 Years - Plano, TX

Hello,
I am writing to share my experience with a double lip reduction procedure that I had on 10/15/2015. I used RealSelf for my research and thought I should contribute to this website with my own experience in return. I have large Asian ethnic lips that are not proportional to the rest of my face so I wanted them reduced.
I consulted with two Doctors prior to choosing one for the procedure. The first Doctor I spoke with was local and the second was located in Texas. I visited the first Doctor in person to get a sense of what he can do in terms of reducing the size of my lips. I consulted with the second via email by sending him pictures of myself. I decided to go with the second Doctor because it seems like he has more experience with the procedure. The Doctor I chose was Dr. Samuel Lam. I would recommend trying to meet any doctor in person prior to the procedure to get more of a one on one consultation experience. It was strange to not actually meet the people who will be altering your lips.
Dr. Lam was fully booked so I had to wait about a month for my procedure. I flew to Texas the day before my scheduled surgery date to meet with Dr. Lam. He told me how much of my lip he thinks should be removed. He basically put his finger at the point where he recommends removing. It was a bit difficult to imagine what my lips would look like from this technique. I had to sort of guess. He said he didn’t want to remove too much because it would not look natural. I trusted that he knew what he was doing since he has a lot of experience this this procedure so I went with it. I was afraid of doing too much or little. He did mention that he would do a revision surgery at a discount if I wanted my lips to be reduced further. I am hoping that I do not need to a revision.
After speaking with Dr. Lam, I was given a bunch of paperwork to sign and prescriptions for medication I should pick up. The medication consists of an antibiotic ointment, painkillers, and a steroid. I picked them up prior to the surgery because I didn't want to be seen in public right after the procedure. Dr. Lam’s staff members were all very friendly and kind. They really took care of me and made me feel comfortable.
DAY 1
The next day I was ready to go in for my procedure. I recommend eating as much carbohydrates as possible prior to the procedure. After the procedure, you will probably have no desire to try to eat anything due to the swelling. The procedure started with meeting Dr. Lam’s assistant during the surgery. She put a gown over my clothes and sat me down at the operation chair. She had everything setup for the procedure and took my temperature and blood pressure. Dr. Lam came in shortly after to talk to me again and draw the line of incisions on my lips with a marker. He will then inject anesthesia in your mouth area. There is a very light sting when this happens but it is not bad. Dr. Lam lets the anesthesia take effect before coming back and injecting a few more shots to complete the numbing.
Your eyes are completely covered during the procedure. This is to shield the bright lights from hitting you in the eye. I did not feel much during the procedure. However, you can tell that Dr. Lam is tugging on your lips to remove part of it. Try not to imagine that it looks like during this process. After the tugging you can tell when he starts stitching the incision line. He does one lip and then proceeds to the second lip. The surgery itself took about an hour.
After the procedure, the assistant will clean up your mouth area. You’ll get to see the results after everything is cleaned up. Honestly, when I first looked into the mirror I was terrified because my lips were really swollen, bloody, and I had dark black stitches on them protruding on the outside. I also could not close my mouth because my lips were so swollen. I was drooling quite a bit. There was no way I could be seen in public without getting looks from others in this condition. Dr. Lam told me that the deformed swelling should go away after 7 days. I was given cotton swabs, gaze pads, and face masks after the procedure. I spoke to Dr. Lam a bit and left for my hotel afterwards. I had to put my face masks on since I looked horrible.
You will feel the swelling after the procedure. The painkillers will help with the pain, I did not feel any pain, but you can still feel the swelling. It was extremely difficult to eat and drink after the procedure. I was not able to use my lips because I did not want to move them much. I had to buy a sippy cup to let water dip down my mouth. I suggest going home and sleeping immediately. Also, I had to make sure I applied the ointment so my lips do not dry out.
DAY 2
I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Lam the next day. My lips were very swollen and it was still difficult to eat and drink. However, there was no pain in my lip area. I did not have to take any pain killers. When I saw Dr. Lam he said everything looked fine and that I should be experiencing swelling for the next 7 days. There wasn’t much else he did at that point. He just wanted to see me to make sure there wasn’t anything usual and made sure I was feeling alright. Again, not much eating or drinking this day. I was still extra careful when moving my mouth. I recommend getting yogurt and bananas to eat. You can swallow these without doing any chewing. The rest of my body felt normal but I had very obvious swollen lips.
DAY 3
The third day was my travel day back home. I was worried that people would still be freaked out by my lips so I wore a mask to the airport. Obviously, you’ll have to take your mask off at security. My lips were very swollen this day but a lot of the dry blood on my lips had faded away so you can now clearly see the sutures. I was able to chew very soft pasta and chicken breast. It was still uncomfortable.
DAY 4
I looked a lot better today. Keep in mind my lips are still swollen and my mouth still does not completely closes. I was able to pasta and pizza now. However, still a lot of tightness in my lips and the sutures are still sticking out.
Day 5
Today, I still swelling in my lips but it is not as bad as the previous days. I still did not feel comfortable going to work since it is still very obvious something was going on with my lips.

Today the swelling has gone down even more. They are still a little swollen but I think its mainly because the sutures are still in place. There is still tightness in my lips when I speak. I can now go out in public and no one will notice that I am only 6 days post op. Some of the sutures have dissolve but a majority of them are still there. Not back to work yet because people would notice the sutures if they look at my face long enough.

It been 7 days post surgery. Basically my lips have had 7 full days to heal since the procedure. I still have very minimal numbness in my lips. The sutures have not dissolved, it seems like they are still hanging on pretty strong. I wish I could have them taken off now because I don't think they are providing any support and are just slowing down the healing process at this point. The swelling has almost completely gone away. I wish I could see my lips without sutures. I am happy with their size so far. It is now just a matter of seeing how much smaller they'll become in 3 months time.
Attached are two pictures. The one with my mouth open is pre op. The one with stitches are the post op pics and as of today.