Normal Things: You may have some bloody drainage from your mouth for the first couple of days. This is normal if the surgery was done through your mouth. You should expect to have some swelling of your face and neck. The swelling may be worse the next morning after your surgery than the first night. To control swelling, it is helpful to sleep with “the head higher than the heart”. This is best accomplished by sleeping with your back and head elevated on several pillows or to sleep in a recliner chair for a couple nights. Use crushed ice or frozen peas over your lips and chin the first night to also help with swelling. The swelling and bruising is generally gone in 10 – 14 days.

Medicines: Take the Vicodin for pain every 4 hours if you need it for discomfort. Take it less often if your discomfort is controlled. If you get nausea from the Vicodin try taking a half a pill at a time. Take the antibiotics (Amoxicillin) and Arnica as directed. The Medrol is to help with swelling and can be stopped once your swelling is decreased. Take it as directed in the pack. The Afrin can be used 2 – 3 times per day to help with stuffiness.

Diet: The first night after your surgery, the meals should be light and not require much chewing. The lower lip is usually numb for a period of time after the surgery so you must be careful as you eat and make sure the food is not too hot. The muscle activity of the lips may be temporarily altered from the surgery so eating may be a little difficult at first. The activity will all return to normal in time. If your implant was placed through the mouth, be careful when eating so that the stitches inside your lower lip are not damaged.

Other important instructions:

-- Do not put pressure on the chin area with your hand or when sleeping for 6 weeks. Pressure risks moving the implant.

-- You may shower or wash your face the next day after surgery. Try to keep the steri-strips or tape on for 3 days. When the tape gets loose you may remove it.

-- You may brush your teeth normally but be careful in the area of the incision if the implant was placed through the mouth .

-- Avoid extreme physical activity and bending over.

-- Avoid smiling, grinning, and excess facial movements for a couple weeks after your surgery to avoid moving the implant.

-- Swelling from the surgery will temporarily make the chin area look “too big”. It takes several weeks for the swelling to go down so do not worry if the surgery makes your chin look excessive. It will look just right in time.