How to Reduce Swelling Quickly After Facial Contouring Surgery - Explained by a Plastic Surgeon

Hello, this is Director Jo Hyun-woo of Ipcheok Plastic Surgery.

Many people’s biggest concern after facial contouring surgery is swelling.

Today, I will explain in detail the proper ways to manage swelling after facial contouring surgery.

Swelling is something that naturally occurs after plastic surgery.

However, swelling after facial contouring surgery covers a larger area than other surgical sites, and depending on the surgical method and post-operative care, there can be differences in recovery time and in the before-and-after results. So for better results and faster recovery, proper post-operative care is important.

The easiest and simplest method is compress therapy.

Compress therapy is one of the most basic care methods for all plastic surgeries.

If you start right after surgery and apply cold compresses for 2 to 3 days, you can help prevent post-operative bleeding and reduce acute swelling.

After that, applying warm compresses can improve blood circulation, help reduce the swelling, and also help decrease facial contouring swelling and bruising.

If you sleep with your face positioned higher than your heart, swelling will be less likely to pool in the facial area, which helps swelling go down more easily.

However, since you cannot keep sitting up while sleeping, it is best to do this only as much as is realistically possible.

Swelling and recovery process after square jaw surgery and chin surgery

The second is diet.

Pumpkin is widely known as a food that helps minimize swelling.

Pumpkin helps with diuretic function, shortens the recovery period, and is effective at removing impurities from the body.

When consulting about facial contouring, surprisingly many people do not drink water regularly.

Water helps blood circulation in our body and also helps you sleep well, which supports recovery.

After general anesthesia, you need to drink water frequently to help with detoxification, and because this is surgery involving the inside of the mouth, you should also drink water often to keep the mouth moist and help prevent infection.

It is also good to keep sodium intake low when eating.

If sodium intake is excessive, it can increase blood volume, constrict blood vessels, raise blood pressure, and cause swelling.

After surgery, it is advisable to consume less.

Swelling and recovery process after 3D cheekbone reduction surgery

For about 1 to 2 weeks after cheekbone surgery, there are wounds inside the mouth, so you should eat small-sized foods, and since chewing is limited, it is better to consume soft liquid foods.

For about 6 weeks after cheekbone surgery, it is best to avoid hard and chewy foods as much as possible.

At this time, after meals, you must be sure to take the prescribed medication and gargle, as this helps prevent inflammation.

The third measure for facial contouring swelling is avoiding alcohol and smoking.

For one month after surgery, it is important to absolutely avoid alcohol and smoking.

Cigarettes and alcohol constrict blood vessels, slowing recovery, and can also cause side effects such as inflammation. Therefore, you should avoid drinking and smoking for at least one month after surgery.

Swelling and recovery process after 230-degree 3D cheekbone reduction surgery

The fourth is light exercise (walking).

After facial contouring surgery, exercise that does not strain the body can be helpful for swelling.

If you walk for one hour a day or do light exercise at a walking pace, it can help blood circulation and assist with reducing swelling.

However, strenuous exercise can irritate the surgical area, so it is best to avoid it.

Since each patient has different body characteristics and recovery speeds, the symptoms that occur after surgery naturally differ.

Among patients, some worry a lot because their swelling goes down more slowly than others.

There are cases where swelling goes down more slowly than in others because of a naturally swelling-prone constitution, poor recovery after surgery, excessive sodium intake, or reduced blood circulation.

It only takes time, and the swelling will go down completely, so there is no need to worry too much.

Swelling and recovery process after contouring triple surgery

LED laser or radiofrequency treatment at the hospital can also help reduce swelling.

At our hospital, through Smartlux treatment, you can help speed up skin regeneration and alleviate swelling and pain.

As I mentioned in a previous column, I believe the most important factor in swelling is shortening the surgery time.

During facial contouring surgery, osteotomy, skin incision, and dissection are performed, so the amount of bleeding that occurs during surgery is proportional to the surgery time.

Because facial contouring surgery is performed in the narrow space inside the mouth, if the surgeon lacks experience, damage to surrounding tissue is inevitable, and if unnecessary dissection increases, bleeding also increases, which in turn lengthens the surgery time.

Therefore, if you want to avoid suffering from swelling that lasts longer than average, it is best to finish the surgery cleanly and without delay.

Today, I talked about how to reduce swelling quickly after contouring surgery.

Most of this may be familiar information that many of you already know, but reviewing it once more may still help with reducing swelling and improving recovery, even if only a little.

Thank you.