Van – My Plastic Surgery Review with Wish Clinic Taipei (Part2)

Dr. Chuang : )

Consultation and Q&A.
Before meeting Dr Chuang in person, we already did quite a detailed online consultation and I’ve already bombarded Dr Chuang with all the questions I had in mind. Since I am not new to this topic, I probably didn’t have as much questions compared to those who are new to PS.

I will just share some common FAQs people tend to ask during first consultations:

1. How long is the downtime for eyelid surgery & rhinoplasty?
Downtime is usually different for different procedures and different people. Typically for rhinoplasty & eyelid surgeries, as it is a simple surgery, a few days to a week to get back to normal activities is common. People often return to work 1 week post-op because stitches would be removed after a week or so.

2. Are results permanent?
Results are usually permanent though there may be a few factors that affect permanence. E.g. for rhinoplasty, it depends on the implants used for your nose. And for eyelid surgery, usually it will be permanent until aging causes sagging then perhaps you’d need another surgery to remove excess skin if you seek perfection.

3. Will it be painful?
Based on my own experiences, there were little or no pain during surgery. For eyelid surgery, local anesthetic was used. That means you’d be awake during surgery and the anesthetic is only effective on the surgery site, i.e. in this case, my eyelids. Doctors need patients to be awake so that patients could assist in opening & closing of their eyes for them to check the incisions made and the height of the crease. At times when the anesthetic starts to wear out, you could possibly feel the pulling/tugging/stitching sensation though there will not be much pain but only slight discomfort. When I did my rhinoplasty, I was under general anesthetic the first time in Vietnam, and local anesthetic was given in Wish Clinic but I was put asleep through the surgery. Basically both times I was asleep and when I woke up there was no pain at all. The only difference was that the GA gave me a side effect of nauseousness and that made me throw up the whole night at the hospital, which was really uncomfortable to deal with. With LA used, there was no such problem at all. To me I didn’t feel pain at all for both eyelid & nose surgeries, though there might have been times of discomfort e.g. blurry vision, dizziness right after surgery, and swelling, which all are commonly felt post-op.

4. Will the surgery leave scars?
This really depends on your doctor’s skills and methods used for the surgery. My first rhinoplasty surgery left zero scars at my conumella where incision was made (between both nostrils), and minimal scar for my non-incisional double eyelid procedure since it was only stitching method used and no cutting was done. But my first epicanthoplasty left scars even after 3 years, still pretty visible when no make up is applied. That was quite a failed op since there was no difference after surgery plus it left scars. *fail* My latest surgery with Dr Chuang is still under observation but Dr Chuang did assure me that the method used for my epi (“w” stitch) will leave almost no scarring, or minimal. He already cut the skin with old scars away and my new incision marks should go away in 6 months, I am having high hopes for it! : D

5. What about post treatment care?
I was briefed my post-op instructions by Wish Clinic’s friendly staff and also given a post-treatment care pack which consist of medications like painkillers & antibiotics, sterile cotton swabs and saline lotion to keep wounds clean, application creams and lotion for the wounds to keep infections at bay, eye drops for post eyelid surgeries, a cool/hot water bag to do cold/warm compresses, and a pack of face mask for wearing out if you prefer to keep low-profile (picture of the pack can be found in blog post part 1). I also returned to the clinic daily (since I lived 5 minutes away) for light treatment which was supposed to help rid swelling faster.

While getting light therapy done at Wish Clinic.

6. Diet post-op?
No seafood, spicy food, heaty food like nuts, alcohol, and smoking – until wounds are completely healed, just to prevent any infections and for speedy recovery. Typically for 2 weeks at least I suppose? Try to stay indoors more often when the haze is bad since dusty air isn’t good for wound recovery too.

7. How long do I have to stay in Taipei for?
Stitches will be removed in 7/8 days, ideally 8 days but 7 minimum days. Oh yea, and it depends on the type of surgery you’re getting done too. Heard that jaw surgeries require patients to stay for at least 2 weeks.

8. How fast can I start my workout again?

9. How long will it take to look normal again?
For eyelid surgeries, most swelling should subside by a month but look most natural from 3-6 months. For rhinoplasty most swelling should subside from 1-3 months, but for swelling to TOTALLY subside it may take 6-12 months depending on individuals. This needs to be understood since many feel depressed while waiting for the final outcome thinking they screwed up their face but in fact its only because swelling has not subside fully. Patience!