Swelling After Facial Contouring Surgery: Recovery Period by Day (Days 1–30) with Photos

Hello. I’m Dr. Jo Hyun-woo of 3D Plastic Surgery.

Today, I’d like to talk about swelling after facial contouring surgery.

I think all patients considering facial contouring surgery feel the same way, but one of the things you are probably most curious about is how quickly you can return to daily life after surgery.

When talking about the recovery process after facial contouring surgery, there are things like bruising, wounds inside the mouth, and discomfort opening the mouth, but I think the most important factor in deciding when you can return to daily life is swelling. So, I will explain the process of swelling going down after facial contouring surgery with day-by-day photos.

The photo below shows a patient who underwent zygoma reduction, square jaw surgery, and chin surgery, for a total of three facial contouring procedures.

Swelling after facial contouring surgery

When people think about swelling after facial contouring surgery, they usually imagine that it is worst immediately after surgery. But in reality, if you look on the day of surgery or the next day, you may feel that you are not very swollen at all.

Swelling after facial contouring surgery reaches its peak at 72 hours after surgery, and it increases most noticeably on days 2 to 3 rather than immediately after surgery.

At this time, patients often worry that their face is swelling more and more as time passes, but it is normal for swelling to continue increasing until day 3. After day 3, the swelling gradually begins to subside.

Swelling after facial contouring surgery

By day 7 after surgery, the major swelling will have gone down.

However, some patients start to worry after a week has passed.

"I had surgery, so why does my face look uneven? Did something go wrong with the surgery?"

They say this with concern because the major swelling has gone down and it seems like all the swelling should have disappeared by now, yet the face still appears uneven.

However, recovery is not complete by one month after surgery, and for 3 months, or in some cases as long as 6 months, the swelling gradually subsides while the wounds heal.

The reason the face looks uneven during the recovery period is that after facial contouring surgery, the entire face swells significantly at first, and then as the swelling goes down, it subsides in different areas of the face. During the process of swelling going down, some unevenness is inevitable, so this is a natural phenomenon. Please think of it as part of the recovery process and do not worry too much.

Checkup on day 10 after zygoma reduction, square jaw surgery, and chin surgery

If you want to keep the fact that you had surgery a secret from people around you, I advise that you allow at least two weeks.

By the second week after surgery, the swelling will have gone down a lot, so it will be the kind of thing you can brush off by saying, "I just had my wisdom teeth removed," or "I’m a little swollen today."

Checkup on day 10 after zygoma reduction, square jaw surgery, and chin surgery

Sometimes, even after some time has passed following surgery, people say, "My face keeps getting smaller~"

In general, by one month after surgery, about 90% of the swelling has gone down, so it may look like everything has already settled. But as the remaining minor swelling and scar tissue gradually fade over 3 to 6 months, the face becomes a little slimmer.

However, swelling varies depending on the patient’s constitution, so for some people it may last longer, while others may have almost no swelling even on day 7.

Zygoma reduction, square jaw surgery, chin surgery, and double chin liposuction

"Then, is there a separate way to reduce swelling after surgery?"

Aside from the patient’s constitution, the factors that affect post-surgery swelling are the surgical method and the length of the surgery.

Swelling after facial contouring surgery is proportional to the amount of bleeding that occurs during surgery and the duration of the surgery.

Therefore, surgery that reduces swelling means reducing bleeding, in other words minimizing unnecessary wounds, and shortening the operation time through a clean and efficient procedure without delay.

For example, if something that could be cut once is cut 3 or 4 times, or if it is handled repeatedly, the surrounding soft tissue will naturally be damaged.

That means more bleeding will occur as well.

230-degree zygoma reduction, square jaw surgery

In the case of 230-degree zygoma reduction, the surgical process has been simplified for a faster recovery period, and the surgery takes about 20 minutes.

Because facial contouring surgery is performed through the narrow space inside the mouth, if the surgeon lacks experience, damage to the surrounding tissues is unavoidable.

If there is too much unnecessary dissection, bleeding increases, and in the end, the surgery takes longer as well.

Therefore, if you do not want to struggle with swelling that lasts longer than average, it is best to finish the surgery cleanly and without delay.

That concludes my explanation of swelling and recovery time after facial contouring surgery.

Thank you.