Proper care is important after Jaw Reduction surgery to avoid infection while accelerating recovery at the same time. You’ll get a complete guide from your surgeon to help with postoperative recovery, which most likely includes the following recommendations:

• Try to keep the face in an elevated position as much as you can, even when asleep. Keeping your face elevated will help reduce swelling significantly.
• Patients should move around in the home or take short walks as they start feeling more comfortable. Such movement encourages blood circulation and helps with the healing process.
• Keep yourself on a liquid diet after the surgery for one week, at least. Drinking food, instead of chewing it, helps avoid trauma to your jaw area and the surgery site, making it less painful. Patients should only consume hard foods around one month after their jaw reduction surgery.
• It may be necessary for the patients to wear a compression bandage on their face. They are encouraged to wear such bandage all the time for the first week after undergoing the procedure. After that, they should wear it when at home and even while sleeping.
• It is recommended to regularly use an antibacterial mouth rinse for keeping your mouth as well as the site of the incision clean. It will help avoid infection.
• Try not to indulge in strenuous activities. Avoid heavy lifting for, at least, a month after the procedure.
• Don’t smoke or consume alcohol for a couple of weeks after the jaw reduction procedure.
• Visit your surgeon for follow-up appointments. The surgeon will check on the recovery progress while also allowing you to voice your concerns or ask any questions.

Patients can generally get back their normal social life and work routine in around 14-18 days of their jaw reduction surgery. Some swelling can still exist by then and it will continue to subside over time.

Patients can expect permanent results after a jaw reduction surgery. It is common to experience noticeable swelling after the procedure and, therefore, it can take a few days to a week to be able to remove the compression bandage. The results will be prominent as soon as you can remove the bandage. Sometimes, it may take a few months for all the swelling to subside.

The new jawline contours will become evident after the swelling goes away. If any changes are noticed in the jawline as it heals, or there is unusual pain, talk to your surgeon about it in the follow-up appointment.

In younger patients who have good skin elasticity, the skin generally adjusts to the newly formed jawline. When it comes to older patients, however, the re-adaptation of the skin to the new jawline isn’t always that straightforward. They may even experience some skin sagging issues. Both invasive and non-invasive procedures are available to address any skin laxity concerns after surgery.

No, the growth of jaw bone is not possible after the procedure. However, the masseter muscle that is present along your jaw can become thicker when you clench and grind repetitively.

The bone removed during the procedure is taken from your jaw’s lower edge, away from your teeth. So, the surgery doesn’t impact the dental work that might be needed at all.

Most of the time, the procedure is termed as a day surgery procedure which means that the patients don’t need to get hospitalized after the surgery. They can return home the same day after undergoing surgery. It is advised, however, that somebody should be there to take care of the patients, at least, for the first 2-3 days after surgery if they are staying alone. When the case is more complex, however, your surgeon may recommend you to get hospitalized for 1-2 days. This differs from one case to another.