I have a "Stage 2" (whatever that means) Open Bite. I have a "weak chin" because either my jaw never grew up with the rest of my body, or its actually grew backwards. This all means that my teeth touch in the back but not in the front. When ever I explain this to people, I show them that I physically can't touch my front teeth together, and they usually get it.
So what does this mean procedure wise? It means that in order for me to bite correctly, I will be having Double Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. During my many appointments, the surgeon showed me a model like this (right). The first step it to slide my lower jaw forward. But sliding my jaw forward wouldn't fix the bite. In addition to moving it forward, they will also angle it upward to match my upper jaw. Next, they'll be separating my entire upper jaw from my skull in order to widen it, and to correct the ever so slight tilt in my upper jaw. They'll reattach it, throw in some screws, and make sure my bite fits perfectly (yay). Then they'll move on to my chin. They literally cut my chin bone off and pull it forward as far as the surgeon sees fit. He claims he has an eye for it and honestly, I trust him. Then they put some more screws in and they're done. My surgeon said start to finish, he can do the whole thing in under 2 hours. I will have minimal swelling when I wake up and not be in much pain (or so they say). This is because during surgery, they have no choice but to sever lots of my important facial nerves (don't worry, they'll grow back). As cool as it is that I won't be able to feel the full extent of the trauma my face has endured, all the other blogs say the numbness returning is extremely annoying. I guess I'll have to wait and see for myself. "But what about all that metal in your face? Won't you set off airport security alarms?"
Actually no. All the plates and screws going into my face are made of titanium. I guess titanium doesn't set off metal detectors or whatever.
I'm so glad I found your blog. I'm having the same surgery this spring, also with Dr. Day. I was hoping I could email you privately with questions? Let me know! You look great!
ReplyDeleteHi M.Yaun!
DeleteThanks so much! I hope its able to help you prepare for your surgery. I would LOVE to answer any questions you have but for my own privacy protection, I'm not giving out my email. So if you are still interested, feel free to ask any questions you have on any of my posts and I'll answer them to the best of my abilities!
Ok, no problem. About me...I'm a 40 year old stay at home mom and I'll be traveling from Chicago for the surgery. I'll have to stay in AZ for about two weeks for follow up appointments until I can fly back home. My surgery is scheduled for May so right now I'm freaking out about the complication risks, the down time, the pain...do you have any insight to those things that can calm my nerves? Did you have palate expansion during this surgery as well? Mine will include that, which adds more risks and recovery. How did you like Dr. Day? I've read reviews online that he is not so warm and fuzzy. I met him once and he seems to really know his stuff though, and I'll see him once more before my surgery. Any other advice about surviving the recovery process?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
That's awesome! Dont't worry, I was freaking out for a while too. Then I actually met Dr. Day. My first impression of him was that he's over confident. But now that I've known him a little longer, he is fully worthy of that confidence. This is what he does all day every day (no pun intended). I don't know where you read reviews saying he's not so warm because I thought he was fine. He answered all my questions and made sure I was confortable going into surgery. I had the pallete expansion as well as having my jaw slide forward and tilted, and the genoplasty. I was worried the most about the pallete expansion just because it was such a weird concept to me, but it healed really well. I like most patients didn't really have much pain at all. They cut a lot of nerves so it was mostly a dull sore kind of pain. I would maybe suggest getting some anti-nausea meds though. I never did and I wish I would have. My first three days were rough mostly because of my nausea. I hope someone will be coming with you to get your surgery because I can't imagine getting through that first week alone. I'm actually gonna make a post soon about tips for recovery, but the I'll give you my top five!
Delete1. Invest in some of those $1 picnic ketchup bottles. You won't be able to use a straw or drink from a cup for close to two weeks. I used these for every aspect of my consumption for the full two weeks. Water, smoothies, thin soups, thin shakes, all work well in these.
2.ICE ICE ICE for the first 72 hours, you should pretty much always have ice on your face. I would take it off for like an hour and feel like the swelling would come back. After the first three days, the swelling will start to go down if you iced it enough. Then I cut the icing down to only a couple hours a day and eventually down to only when I felt I needed it. Then you just gotta wait and let your body work it's magic.
3. That leads to my third tip. Be patient. The first week felt like an eternity but it got soooo much better after that. I had quite a few days where I just wished I had someone who had been through it to tell me everything would be okay. That's kinda why I started this blog. So I could encourage other people.
4. Mira-lax. Take it. Drink it. Do it. Or else you'll be constipated from the hospital drugs and it'll add to your nausea. I mixed mine with Gatorade and drank it with a syrnge. It sounds weird, but the sooner you clean house, the better.
5. Neck pillow! I highly suggest this! I never read anywhere about getting one, but living in a recliner for a full week made me realize what I was missing. It helps to keep your neck stable and gives you a slightly more comfortable sleeping arrangement. That's the other thing. You need to have some sort of recliner. I tried to prop myself up in a bed for a while but that just didn't cut it for me.
I'll make a post soon about recovery tips and answer some common questions! If you think of anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask. I know it's scary, but it's honestly the best thing I've ever been able to do for myself. Truly life changing in the best possible way. :)
Hi again! Thank you so much for the tips! I just met with Dr. Day this week for my pre-op appointment. Only one month until surgery day! Part of me feels better after talking to Dr. Day and Andrea, but the other part of me....well the anxiety is through the roof! I have a 7 year old at home so I worry about some kind of bad complication happening, and I worry about healing quickly to get back to playing with an active kid who will be on summer break. Ugh! Do you have any suggestions on what to eat on the liquid diet? Any recipes you loved, or meal replacement products you liked? I have a Vitamix blender so I can mix just about anything! Hope you are doing well and enjoying your new jaw!
DeleteHi!
DeleteI wouldn't spend too much time worrying about complications because I honestly don't think Doctor Day has ever had any with his patients. I worried about this too and it was a waste of my energy because everything was fine. As for being healed as quickly as possible, don't push it. Its gonna take as long as it takes and while that sucks, I'd rather wait it out than prematurely bump my chin while playing with my kid. I think once your kid sees you, they'll understand that you won't be able to do much for a couple weeks. For my diet, apple sauce was my staple food. I mixed it with juice for the first few weeks and it was tasty. Use your vitamix to blend the living daylights out of soups and chilis. I got so tired of sweet things I resorted to all sorts of blended soups. I also drank Ensures as my Breakfast replacement and sometimes for Dinner. The chocolate one was my favorite, but they have a couple other flavors you can try. Loving my new Jaw and I know you will too! Best of luck!
Hi again! My surgery is in three days (holy hell!). Every time I freak out, I look at your blog and remind myself that it's going to be ok. I just wanted to thank you for the tips and advice, but mostly for documenting your journey. It has been so helpful!
ReplyDeleteWow, I can't believe I found someone in the same situation as me. I'm super nervous about the procedure, but I'm excited to finally have my teeth aligned correctly. It is like you said though, I'm still worried about dealing with my face's senses slowly returning over time. At least while it's numb I don't have to worry about pain!
ReplyDeleteI had my orthognathic + genioplasty surgery, it is day 12 and I am starting to panic!!!
ReplyDeleteI had a mandibular set back of 7mm and sliding genioplasty to bring my chin forward by 4.5mm (maxilla was not touched)
My bite is okay, the orthodontist reviewed me and is happy with my bite
My genioplasty however feels like my lower lip is glued to my chin and I can't seem to move my lower lip properly when I talk. I am lisping and when I make facial expressions I can feel my lips and muscles pushing against the corners of the genioplasty addition. Literally it feels like the genioplasty chin part is bolted high up on my lower teeth and stretching my mouth to smile is hard. Also my lower lip is slightly smaller but thats not the main concern right now.
I can't even talk properly! I feel like I've got this thing stuck in my lips/chin. Is this normal? sorry about my long email. I am just panicked. My lower lip feels tight and not functioning ��
A lot of the facial swelling has subsided but I seem to have this double chin which is something I have never had before.
I would really appreciate your thoughts! I really am worried about not being able to talk properly :(
Hi! This is not my blog but I've been through surgery. I'm hoping by now things have gotten better for you. It all takes time to heal so don't panic yet. My surgery was in May of 2016. It took about six months for all of my swelling to *really* subside, and parts of my lower jaw are still numb - almost back to normal, but not quite yet. It took a long time for me to be able to drink out of a straw because my lips wouldn't move into place. It felt funny to me, and I often wondered if it was "my new normal" but slowly things got better. Hang in there!
ReplyDelete