Past, current, and future Jaw Surgery patients Unite!

• « Jaw Surgery Blog
• Jaw Surgery Forums
• Disclaimer
• FAQ
• Contact Me
• My Video Log
• About Me

Jaw Surgery Forums » Share Your Jaw Surgery Experience!

1. 

   jessica2117
   Member

   Hello! Ok, introduction time... My name is Jessica (obviously), I'm 22, and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am new to this site, and I am so glad I have found it! I felt like I was the only one getting this surgery, and I had no idea how common it was! My surgery is this Monday (6/7)! I can't believe it's almost here. I'm freaking out just a little... ok, a lot! I have an underbite and crossbite, so they are moving my bottom jaw back and to the right and my top jaw forward. I got my braces on in August 2006 in preparation for this. Apparently I had a really bad bite, so it took forever for them to move the teeth to the proper positions. Basically this surgery has been in the works for a long time! I decided to get it because I was getting really bad headaches. had trouble chewing, and the worst -- was having locking in my jaw. Also, I was self-conscious of my smile and sick of always angling my face in pictures, so that was a big part of it too. My insurance is covering the majority of it since it is considered a medical necessity. When I have the surgery, I will be getting banded rather than wired shut. My doctor recommended I take a month off work, so I did. I have read through all of the posts on here, and I still have a lot of questions. One of the bigger questions I have is the very last one below. If you could read through these and answer a all, a few or even one, it would be such a huge help! I really appreciate it! :)

   1- I have terrible jaw locking now... once a day at least and it happens most when I am chewing, biting into something, talking for extended periods of time, etc. Basically, my jaw will lock, and I won't be able to open it past a couple of centimeters. When I finally get it to unlock, it sounds like a crunching sound in my jaw joint, and it really hurts. Did/does anyone else have this problem, and if you had the surgery already, did it cure this?

   2- Is it hard to swallow following the surgery?

   3- Did anyone encounter sleeplessness/sleep anxiety after the surgery? Panic attacks? Feelings of suffocation?

   4- Is there a lot of pressure on the jaw joints/burning after the surgery? Headaches as a result?

   5- How long should be enough time before returning to work after? My job involves a ton of talking. I took off a month, but will I still be in pain when talking after this amount of time? Would most of the swelling be gone in a month? (I don't know if this would make a difference, but like I said at the top, I'll be banded rather than wired)

   6- What about the tubes down your throat during surgery? Did anyone wake up with these still in place?

   7- Did anyone have to get stitches inside or outside of the mouth? When do those come out if so?

   8- How much weight loss is realistic to expect and in what amount of time?

   9- Did everyone's feeling in and around their mouth come back post surgery or do you still have numbness?

   10- After the surgery, when will I feel comfortable eating/talking? I'm so paranoid that I will do something wrong and mess up the healing process!

   11- Did anyone get chin surgery as well? My doctor said my chin might still be out of alignment when they move my jaws, so it needed, he could shift my chin over as well...?

   12- Ice packs or heating pads? My doctor offers a water mask that you put on your face and it circulates water constantly... did anyone else have one of these?

   13- Is the pain after excruciating? (honestly!) When did it hit you the hardest?

   14- Bleeding after/during surgery? How bad?

   15- Is it difficult to bite or clench following the surgery? Should I not even try? My doctor kind of told me this was not recommended... but I have a feeling I won't be able to help it!

   16- Is is hard to open your mouth wide after? When did you feel comfortable opening wide again? Was there any pain? Does it ever feel normal?

   17- Ok... I have to ask this haha... kissing afterward? Is that uncomfortable, and if so, when does that feel normal again?

   18- What are some of the most comfortable positions to lay in/sit in after?

   19- How many people experienced nausea after surgery, and what did you do/could I do to stop/prevent this?

   20- Why do some people get bands and some wires? Is one better than the other? I would thing being wired eliminates any possibility of disturbing the healing, so why would bands even be offered?

   ** And the last, and most IMPORTANT question!!! **

   21- My doctor told me that he and another surgeon (who does rhinoplasties-- nose surgeries) often collaborate, and a lot of people choose to get nose and jaw surgery done at the same time... I have always wanted to get a nose surgery, but suddenly this became an option, and now I'm freaking out as the day gets closer. I have a slight bump in my nose, and the nose surgeon told me that he could make a few minor changes after the jaw surgery is performed. He would shave down the bump, narrow the bridge and narrow the tip (apparently the three have to be done for the best results--my original idea was just shaving down the bump). This started as kind of "Oh really? I could get nose surgery?" And now I've met with this surgeon and told him a tentative yes and everything feels so rushed, and I'm not sure if I should go through with this part! A lot of people mentioned that your nose will look different post surgery anyway, and some had difficulty breathing after jaw surgery. My surgeon said this is completely safe, but I don't know. Has anyone heard of this? Would this make it unbearable? One good thing (and I know you shouldn't just be worried about getting a deal when it comes to major surgery) is that, since this would be at the same time as the jaw surgery, I would use the same hospital and anesthesia, so I wouldn't be charged twice. Instead of $5000, I would only pay $3000 for the nose surgery part, which is nice. My parents are against it, so I would pay for this myself if I did it. Nothing is finalized yet, so I really need some help figuring out what to do! Please let me know your opinions on this! Did your nose change after the jaw surgery anyway?

   ** Brandon, can I email you the pictures to post on this thread?

   Thank you so much!! :) Sorry about the length!

   Jessica

   I had orthognathic surgery on my upper and lower jaws to correct a cross-bite and underbite on June 7th, 2010. It's been a long journey, but I would do it all over again. The results have been life-changing, and if sharing my experience helps others, it makes it all the more worthwhile. :)

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   bexx
   Member

   Hi Jessica

   1) I did not have any trouble opening and closing my mouth before my opp. or have lock jaw. But now, (i am 7 months post opp) I have a slight pain on the right, where the join is, (only now and again) I cant yawn fully without it hurting. But most people dont get this, i am one of the unlucky ones

   2)It is abit hard to swollow the 1st day, as my pallet swelled slightly and when i was trying to sleep, my mouth would go a bit dry

   3)The 1st night i barely slept at all, worring about getting such a dry mouth and not being able to swallow. But the 1st night you are in the recovery room so you are being monitored.

   4)I did'nt get any headaches or burning, but maybe a slight pressure feeling

   5)Most of your swelling we be gone within the month, but i would say about 6 weeks then you can pretty much do anything. Your bones are pretty much fused back together by then

   6)You dont even know about the tubes, there put in when your asleep and taken back aout before your awake. You may still have a catheter, depending on how long your surgery is

   7)I had stitshes inside my mouth, they were dissolvable ones and took between 4 - 5 weeks to come out

   8)I Lost about 7lb, But it all piles back on ones you start eating again. I tried to put on weight before the opp, then i lost it, but because i missed food sssooo much, i but even more back on after. I am now 8st7lb before the surgery i was about 8lb

   9)The numbess outside my mouth has all come back, but my pallet by my teeth is still a bit numb

   10)I was talking pretty much striaght after, But did'nt feel like eating at first, i could barely swallow let alone eat anything. The hospital just gave me soup and i was making alot of noise trying to slurp it up! But once i got home i had what i wanted, Blended foods, Smothies etc and i started enjoying it again.

   11)I was offered (if needed) a second opp if i wanted to make my chin more pronounced. but i dont think i need it. My bottom chin was moved back and my top jaw moved up 4mm

   12)I did'nt use any thing for the heeling process, but luckily i was'nt that swallon. I was the 1st night but it went down pretty quickly

   13)To be reaaly honest, its not that bad! Because you are numb, you dont really feel much. Just maybe a little uncoftable, but thats more the pressure feeling

   14)Luckily i did'nt have any bleeding

   15)Before the surgery i wsa finding i woke up with my teeth clenched! But after i dont think i did.

   16) Like i said earlier, for some reason, my right side hurts at the joint when i yawn. I have tried contacting my surgeon but he has relocted!

   17)Lol! When your numbness has gone, probably about 3 to 4 weeks

   18)Propped up with pillow to sit and sleep. Definatle sleep more upright!

   19)Again luckily i did'nt get any nausia, but there is medicine to help prevent it!

   20)I was told, if you need wires that means when they break your jaw, it did'nt break where it was suppose to, so you need to be wired shut. To need bands is just to move your teeth into a finer bite position.

   21)To be honest, Id wait, because it is a bit difficult to breathe after and with nose sugery aswell, i dont think i would have been able to cope! Plus your nose does change slightly after the opperation.

   Good luck with it all, its very much worth it in the end!!! X
   Bex

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   Brandon
   Site Administrator

   Great answers from Bex, and sure, send pics to brandon AT fitbuff DOT com and I'll post the pictures for you here.

   I'm Brandon, the creator of JawSurgeryBlog.com. I personally had upper and lower jaw surgery on October 30, 2007. Thankfully, everything went beautifully, so I'm trying to make sure everyone else's surgery goes smoothly as well!
   
   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Corrective-Jaw-Surgery/114627165257701

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   jasonc
   Member

   1- Did/does anyone else have this problem, and if you had the surgery already, did it cure this? Some people do have jaw/joint problems on the forums, search TMJ and I'm sure you'll get some good threads. I know my case isn't as severe as yours when it comes to locking jaw, headaches, etc but my jaw would always click, crackle, and pop when opening, closing and chewing. I'm 17+ days out of upper, lower, and chin surgery and can open my mouth only a few cm's but I don't hear as much crackling thats for sure, so hopefully it fixed or at least helped with that.

   2- Is it hard to swallow following the surgery? YES, but not impossible. It's almost like you have to reteach yourself how to swallow. Right now, your used to how you swallow but post surgery your teeth, tongue, and other mouth stuff will be in a different position and will be weird swallowing with your jaw pretty much on lock down. It'll def be a weird situation but nothing at all to worry about.

   3- Did anyone encounter sleeplessness/sleep anxiety after the surgery? Panic attacks? Feelings of suffocation? First 5 days are the most difficult out of the entire experience, but very livable and manageable. Sleep: weird sleeping upright but I got used to it within a few days, but breathing caused me to wake up frequently during day 2-4. Only one night I wasn't able to sleep a full 7-8 hours, but that's because of my year around allergies and congestion. Panic: yes, but the best and only thing you can do is breath slowly and calm down, then I was 100% fine after that. It's scary, but just remember how we are all going through this, and if we can make it so can you! Suffocation: same as the first two pretty much, because of my damn allergies the mucus would hinder my breathing or just make it much more difficult. Even though I was breathing in 100% of the oxygen I needed, it just didnt feel like I was. All I needed was reassurance and I was ok. Breath slow, concentrate, and you'll be 100% ok.

   4- Is there a lot of pressure on the jaw joints/burning after the surgery? Headaches as a result? I don't experience headaches often, but I did only
   maybe once after surgery and it wasn't that bad. Pressure on the jaw: yes because of the chin dressing I had, the swelling, and the locked jaw made the experience very uncomfortable. Again, just make it through days 1-5 and you'll be smooth sailing after that!

   5- How long should be enough time before returning to work after? My job involves a ton of talking. I took off a month, but will I still be in pain when talking after this amount of time? Would most of the swelling be gone in a month? (I don't know if this would make a difference, but like I said at the top, I'll be banded rather than wired) ---- My job requires a lot of running around and talking, so my surgeon gave me 1 1/2 months off. I'm on day 17+ and I feel ok to go back to work, but I know my jaw would get tired and I'm not supposed to run around as it could hinder the healing process. I think a month should be fine. Talking a lot doesn't really cause pain for me, just makes my jaw so tired, like it just went through a workout. My swelling is down considerably, probably about 75%+ right now. Only noticeable swelling that everyone can see are my lips, but I can see slight swelling everywhere still, just slight though. Just ice yourself up the first 5 days which will help with the swelling AND with any pains you feel.

   6- What about the tubes down your throat during surgery? Did anyone wake up with these still in place? ---- I didn't wake up with it in place nor did it cause any uncomfortable feelings after (which the doctor said I probably would feel, but I didn't!). They knocked me out presurgery pretty much without me even remembering WHEN they did it and when I woke up I could barely open my eyes, I was just sleepy and knocked right back out.

   7- Did anyone have to get stitches inside or outside of the mouth? When do those come out if so? ---- Of course stitches inside, none outside. The stitches are supposed to come out on their own. My Dr told me that I'm healing faster than normal and should come out within the next couple weeks. Just keep your mouth clean post op. After every meal, use the mouthwash and brush, thats what I did!

   8-How much weight loss is realistic to expect and in what amount of time? ---- My Dr said people lose 7 lbs on average. She's done 1000+ (countless really) of these surgeries so I took her word for it. I was a steady 135-140lbs @ 5'8" (skinny) and I went down to 128lbs and am steadily at 130lbs now. I went down to 128lbs within the first 3 days.

   9- Did everyone's feeling in and around their mouth come back post surgery or do you still have numbness? ---- I had almost no numbness from what I could tell post op and still no pain. I had two small fingertip sized spots that were numb and thats it. On day 14 when they cut my wires and I could move my mouth around more and my tongue too, I felt more numb spots. Nothing bad, but yeah there's just more spots I feel now. My Dr said the areas that are numb are normal and SHOULD go away.

   10- After the surgery, when will I feel comfortable eating/talking? I'm so paranoid that I will do something wrong and mess up the healing process! ---- Post op I really didn't want to drink anything until day 2 or 3. I could barely talk and no one could understand me until day 4-5. The talking problem was def because of my chin dressing though, once I took that off on day 5 I was much easier to understand. Just don't force yourself to talk too much or your jaw will get tired, and don't get frustrated if people can't understand you, it'll happen!

   11- Did anyone get chin surgery as well? My doctor said my chin might still be out of alignment when they move my jaws, so it needed, he could shift my chin over as well...? ---- Ahh yes I like I said the chin surgery I did have done. I had a severe underbite, so they pulled my upper forward, lower back, and chin forward. If they didn't move my chin, it would look like I didn't have a chin at all, like my chin goes straight down to my neck (uglyyyy). The chin surgery wasn't such a big deal, just feels weird and makes it a little more difficult to talk with the dressing on. My profile wouldn't be nice without this surgery.

   12- Ice packs or heating pads? My doctor offers a water mask that you put on your face and it circulates water constantly... did anyone else have one of these? ---- NO! That would have been nice! Hahaha the ice packs I had that went around my jaw and chin was uncomfortable and had to adjust it all the time. I kept the ice on almost the entire first 4-5 days.

   13- Is the pain after excruciating? (honestly!) When did it hit you the hardest? ---- pain is VERY manageable. The pain of having wisdom teeth taken out is at least twice if not 10x worse. The pain was a 2 out of 10 for me most times. Got worse if I talked TOO much or when I was about to sleep I could feel it a bit more. It hit me the hardest on day 3 or 4 when I was about to sleep, so I took the tylenol w/codiene and BAM numbed my face up good. I could barely feel my face! So weird.

   14- Bleeding after/during surgery? How bad? ---- I had bleeding only day 1-2 but that's all. I spat out bloody mucus probably once a day until day 6 to 8 maybe. Gross but sooooo satisfying!

   15- Is it difficult to bite or clench following the surgery? Should I not even try? My doctor kind of told me this was not recommended... but I have a feeling I won't be able to help it! ----- My jaw was locked TIGHT with wires so I hated how it felt. It was like my jaw had a choice: clench 24 hrs a day or relax 24 hrs a day. The bad thing about "relaxing" though is it would feel like if I relaxed too much my damn teeth were coming loose. Just uncomfortable. Try not to think about it so much, when it wasn't on my mind I could barely tell my jaw was locked. Yeah, and don't clench so much, not good for your jaw and teeth. I had a splint to protect my teeth from the clenching, but it made it 100x harder to swallow and breath through my mouth. With the wires shutting my teeth off, the splint was required.

   16- Is is hard to open your mouth wide after? When did you feel comfortable opening wide again? Was there any pain? Does it ever feel normal? ------ YES! I can only open a few cm's and I can't fit the good foods through my teeth because of it! I have to chop it into tiny pieces and fit it through manually. I can't open wide yet so I'm no help there. There is pain if I try to force my jaw to open more.

   17- Ok... I have to ask this haha... kissing afterward? Is that uncomfortable, and if so, when does that feel normal again? ---- Kissing didn't feel normal until I got the wires cut on day 14. Even now it's not 100% normal because you can only really kiss gently (no passionate kissing yet!). Luckily never had much numbness in my lips so kissing since day 1 has been good.

   18- What are some of the most comfortable positions to lay in/sit in after? ---- sleeping sitting up gets old hahaha. I want to lay down so bad but really shouldn't. I've tried it and I get a bit light headed, so I haven't really lied flat on my back or on my stomach or side for more than 5 minutes on any day. If you have a lazy boy or similar couch = HEAVEN.

   19- How many people experienced nausea after surgery, and what did you do/could I do to stop/prevent this? ----- No nausea here

   20- Why do some people get bands and some wires? Is one better than the other? I would thing being wired eliminates any possibility of disturbing the healing, so why would bands even be offered? ----- Wires suck, but I think your jaw will heal faster because with bands you can open a little which may hinder the healing. The less you try to open with bands, the faster you should heal. Wires suck bad though.

   ** And the last, and most IMPORTANT question!!! **

   21- My doctor told me that he and another surgeon (who does rhinoplasties-- nose surgeries) often collaborate, and a lot of people choose to get nose and jaw surgery done at the same time... I have always wanted to get a nose surgery, but suddenly this became an option, and now I'm freaking out as the day gets closer. I have a slight bump in my nose, and the nose surgeon told me that he could make a few minor changes after the jaw surgery is performed. He would shave down the bump, narrow the bridge and narrow the tip (apparently the three have to be done for the best results--my original idea was just shaving down the bump). This started as kind of "Oh really? I could get nose surgery?" And now I've met with this surgeon and told him a tentative yes and everything feels so rushed, and I'm not sure if I should go through with this part! A lot of people mentioned that your nose will look different post surgery anyway, and some had difficulty breathing after jaw surgery. My surgeon said this is completely safe, but I don't know. Has anyone heard of this? Would this make it unbearable? One good thing (and I know you shouldn't just be worried about getting a deal when it comes to major surgery) is that, since this would be at the same time as the jaw surgery, I would use the same hospital and anesthesia, so I wouldn't be charged twice. Instead of $5000, I would only pay $3000 for the nose surgery part, which is nice. My parents are against it, so I would pay for this myself if I did it. Nothing is finalized yet, so I really need some help figuring out what to do! Please let me know your opinions on this! Did your nose change after the jaw surgery anyway? ---- I've always hated my nose, but I wouldn't do the nose surgery. My nose used to be slanted down with my nostrils slanted down. Nostrils were also very tiny. It was completely unique as no one's nose looked like it. Now my nose points up more (nicer I say) and my nostrils flare out a bit more (nicer too) so yeah I wouldn't do the nose surgery. Take a picture and post here and I'll give you my opinion if you should get it. That's if you feel comfortable with ppl seeing it. Or you can email me it @ jchenoweth22 at gmail dot com. Take care and good luck! Hope I helped!

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   Shawna
   Member

   I’m surprised that your doctors are doing the jaw surgery before fixing you jaw joints. I say that because I have the same troubles as you; only I get stuck open. I did a post about it a week or so ago – Joint surgery before jaw surgery? I’m having joint reconstruction surgery on both of my TMJs in a few weeks and then I will likely move on to braces and jaw surgery.

   Once you have the surgery I’d be curious to see what answers you have to give for these questions since our symptom are so similar. – Thanks for asking the wires vs. bands question. I wondered about that too.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   RYANvaughn
   Member

   Shawna,

   Are you sure you want to do that? Dr. Wolford in Dallas does TMJ surgery in conjunction with orthognathic surgery. That way you only have to endure one surgery and the healing process isn't as bad.

   Ryan

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   jessica2117
   Member

   Wow, thank you so much for all your great answers! You are all so helpful, and I'm so glad I found this site!

   bexx -- it sounds like your surgery went pretty well! you said that at 4 weeks most of the swelling should be down (a huge relief!), but what about talking at 4 weeks? and also, how did your nose change post surgery?

   jamesc -- your surgery sounds like it went pretty well too! I hope i'm as lucky! I can't believe you can only open your mouth a few cm's by now. do you know if that's normal? i wonder if it's the same as far as opening of the jaw for patients who are wired vs banded... If you can barely open your mouth still, how do you brush the backs of your teeth and inside your mouth? is it painful? I feel like I will be so paranoid of doing something wrong that I will not want to open my mouth at all. Some people say talk and move your mouth a lot so that you will get accustomed to the new bite, and others say move it as little as possible so that you don't disturb the healing... what do you think? And thanks for the tip on the kissing - got it, no passionate kissing for a while!!

   I am about to email pictures to Brandon, and when they're posted, please EVERYONE take a look and give me your honest opinions about the nose surgery. Thanks so much in advance!!!!!

   And Shawna -- trust me, I will definitely be posting on here during recovery and beyond to help others out! good luck on your procedures! My doctor did mention the joint surgery to me, but he said it has a lot of risks and 9 times out of 10, the jaw surgery alone will correct any joint problems because there will be less pressure on the jaw joints... Just something to think about :)

   Thanks again!!!

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   bexx
   Member

   I was talking straight after surgery ok, but my mouth just did'nt move. I was chatting with the other ladies on my ward and they understood what i was saying! when the numbness and swelling subsided, i was able to talk normally. My nose is a bit straighter and slightly wider at the nostrels. It was abit thin before.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   jasonc
   Member

   Yes it is normal once gettin the wires cut to only be able to open my jaw a few cm's. It is not so much painful brushing my teeth, more like very tiring. I have to fit my toothbrush through my teeth, which barely fit through, and brush the back of my teeth and tongue. My jaw gets very tired during this as it's open for so long and the pressure of the brush brushing against my lower jaw also doesn't help. I'm getting through it just fine though. And talking, yes I talk all the time without much trouble at all. I sound weird with a lisp only because my lips are still swollen and takes too much effort to move my lips around to combat the lisp. I don't avoid talking because i don't really believe it'll hinder the healing process.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    jessica2117
    Member

    hi Brandon, did you get my email with the pictures? I sent them to you a couple days ago and again yesterday. Surgery tomorrow ah! freaking out majorly... thanks :)

    Posted 1 year ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply »

You must log in to post.