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Plastic surgery was just about the last thing I...
As stated in the title, I've always had a bit of a double chin. It runs in the family. It's nothing severe but I've always felt terrible about it, and as I got older it seemed to only be getting worse. I could see and feel that obnoxious blob of fat undulating in a distracting way under my chin whenever I talked or moved my head and needless to say it made me self-conscious especially about video or photos. After randomly spending several nights studying the topic, plastic surgery began to move from "fantasy" to "possibility." I went in for a consultation and got good news. My doctor thought I'd be a great fit for the procedure due to my age and situation. After some thorough consideration I actually signed up for surgery and went through with it. Again, something I never thought I'd do but I did it anyway!
Post-surgery wasn't great but it wasn't that hard to get through. I was given some pain medication that helped a lot. I was lucky and was able to just work from home during that time, and I know I took a couple days off too. I stopped needing the hardcore pain meds after a few days, and the pain was mostly gone within a week or two. Not that my chin felt NORMAL, no, that took months, but mostly stopped being a problem fairly quickly. The bruising was pretty ugly and I wore scarves for a few weeks, but they went away fine on their own. The numbness in spots persisted for months but it wasn't particularly bothersome, just kind of weird.
I will note that eating was more complicated than I'd thought, so don't be like me and make sure you've got some liquidy or gooey foods around that require little or no chewing or opening of your mouth.
It's hard to pin down when my results were "final" because apparently it can take up to a year for things to fully settle back down. But now that it's over a year later I can confidently talk about the final results . . . I still have a round, soft face, I was not suddenly given a sharp, square Angelina Jolie jaw, but my jaw and chin are more defined now, and the area under my jaw is much smaller and more nicely shaped than the lumpy thing I had before. Would someone look at me and exclaim that I suddenly look much better or different? Probably not. It's fairly subtle, especially if I'm not moving or talking. At most it looks like I lost some weight, which is always good, but not exactly striking. I think people will notice my additional confidence much more than they'll consciously realize that I had something done to my face.
Overall, I'm pretty happy. Part of me had bigger expectations, but I'm realizing that my facial shape is what it is, and that having a sharp, angular jaw isn't required to have a nice face. What I've given myself instead of an ideal face is a better version of my own. Over time I've stopped worrying about my chin much at all. I'm much more confident and much less afraid of cameras now. I look more like I want to, I feel less dysmorphia when I look in a mirror. I went in partly hoping for someone else's jaw, but now I appreciate my own assets much more now that they are not hidden under ugly chin rolls.
So, if you're considering this surgery, if you just want a better version of your existing face, then chin lipo is worth a try. However if what you want out of plastic surgery is to look like someone else, I don't think chin lipo is going to be enough. Be honest with yourself and keep your expectations in check. Be honest with your surgeon so they can help guide you towards a different procedure if needed.
Thank you for reading, I hope it was helpful. Reading the reviews on this very site helped me a TON in making this decision, so hopefully with this writing, I can pass the kindness on to someone else. Good luck in your decision!
Provider Review
I had my work done through the Portland Plastic Surgery Group with Dr. Shannon O'Brien as my surgeon. Everyone there was fantastic, very friendly and helpful, and there was absolutely no pressure. Dr. O'Brien herself was great to work with. She was clearly very experienced and had no trouble answering any of my questions. In my consultation with her we came up with a plan that we thought would work best for what I wanted which ended up being chin lipo, but she presented me with many options and was candid about all of their advantages and disadvantages. She was also very good at following up and making sure everything healed well, as well as being open to any questions or concerns I had. The ladies in the office did an excellent job with scheduling the actual surgery. We had some schedule conflicts but they worked very hard to find a time that worked for me. Billing was very straight-forward, just a check handed in at one of my appointments. The surgery was done at the Northwest Ambulatory Surgical Center. My experience there was also wonderful. Everything was very organized and was set up waiting for me so, for me, everything was very simple and straight-forward. The staff were very kind, especially my anesthesiologist. I was a bit nervous that morning and their kindness made it a lot more pleasant of a day. My only criticism is that when I woke up my chin strap was put on slightly wrong, but only in a minor way, and it still did its duty. It just felt better when I was able to configure it myself.