A woman who underwent double jaw surgery to correct her significant underbite has shared painful photos from her journey to achieving a winning smile, stating: ‘It was worth it.’

Luisa McDermott, 26, from Bradford, was only nine years old when she developed a 3cm underbite that caused her bottom jaw to protrude beyond her upper jaw.

It started to affect her confidence when she was a teenager. ‘People would say “your jaw is massive”,’ she told news website needtoknow.

‘My jaw made me really unhappy, and I hated having photos.’ 

However, she added: ‘The comments didn’t bother me as much as they should because I always knew that I’d be getting surgery one day.’

She had her first surgery at the age of 18, during which her jaw was shaved down by 4mm. 

But the wait for it had a big impact on her life, as she had to go to hospital every six weeks to see if her teeth were ready for surgery. 

‘I was desperate. I didn’t go to university in case I needed surgery during that time,’ she said.

In recent videos on her TikTok page, @l_mcdermott1, she disclosed that she had to wait an additional eight years—while wearing braces—before undergoing her final double-jaw surgery.

After her long wait, in a clip released at the beginning of this year, she is seen joyfully skipping down a hospital corridor in anticipation of the surgery, which moved her jaw back 0.8mm and her top jaw forward by 1cm.

In overlaying text, she wrote: ‘Never thought I’d see this day coming so excited to see results.’ 

The following videos show her lower face so severely swollen that she was unable to eat solid food for two months. 

‘The total recovery time is about 18 months. I was on a liquid diet for two weeks and had to eat through a straw, after which I could eat mashed potatoes,’ she explained.

‘It was so uncomfortable. I couldn’t swallow, I couldn’t feel my teeth, I needed 24/7 care, I had to be fed, and I couldn’t go to the toilet.

‘On the third day, my eye was swollen shut, so I could only see out of half of it. My cheek, neck, lips, and chin were swollen and bruised, and I experienced nosebleeds. But the pain is absolutely worth it; it’s life-changing.’

She added: ‘I wasn’t scared because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I knew I’d get to the other side, and that is what I had to go through.’

Since the final operation, she said: ‘I’m still struggling to eat and chew solids, I’ve got pins and needles in my chin and can’t move my top lip.’

The only thing left is for her to get the braces removed, which she’s due to get done in January. ‘I can’t wait to have them off,’ she said.

Luisa says she now has a newfound confidence and that her friends do a double-take when they see her.

‘A lot of people don’t recognise me. My next-door neighbour and colleagues didn’t recognise me when they first saw me,’ she said.

And, she added: ‘I love my side profile now. Everything is in place and symmetrical. I’m really happy and I feel a million times better when I look in the mirror. 

‘Now, when I take a photo, I feel like I’m catching up on all of those years. I feel a lot more confident. I’d do it all over again.’