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jaw surgery plate removal

(51 posts)
  • Started 2 years ago by oakwood1
  • Latest reply from Terminator
  • 4 Members Subscribed To Topic
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  1. oakwood1
    Member

    I had a Le Forte upper jaw surgery several years ago and am now having the plates and screws removed as a last resort to see if the screws are causing my severe and frequent sinus infections. Has anyone had their upper jaw surgery plates removed? I am wondering just how bad the recovery from this is, specifically how much pain, facial swelling, and facial numbness to expect.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  2. Brandon
    Site Administrator

    Hmmm, I haven't heard of this, and I still have plates and screws on the top and bottom.

    If they remove the plates, what will they replace them with to keep your jaws in place?

    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 2 years ago #

  3. oakwood1
    Member

    The bones are well healed after a 1-2 years and there is no need for the plates. I've had the plates for 17 years. My oral surgeon told me when I had the jaw surgery that I could have the plates removed later if I wanted, but since the original surgery was soo "unpleasant" I didn't want that done.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  4. mwall
    Member

    My surgeon just talked to me about this option. It seems interesting. He said in America 99% of cases leave their plates and screws in for life while in Europe 99% of people have them taken out. He presented me with the option said it would be done in office and it wouldn't take very long. Kind of interesting I might do it what does everyone think? And to answer brandon when they remove the plates your bones are already healed in their new position.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  5. lucrezia
    Member

    Okay, this frightens me a bit...I'm having a Lefort upper jaw surgery in 2 weeks. I have a history of chronic sinus infections and my surgeon has told me that the surgery will probably help this problem, as my extremely narrow upper jaw structure doesn't allow for proper drainage from my sinuses.
    Just curious if you've had problems with the chronic infections since before the surgery or is this somewhat new?

    I had upper jaw surgery 2/3/10...well on my way to recovery, a great smile and finally being able to chew normally!
    Posted 2 years ago #

  6. mwall
    Member

    I too had upper and lower jaw surgery done. My surgeon told me it would help my sinuses I haven't been really able to see as of yet (5 wk post surgery). I also had some breathing problems corrected by this surgery.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  7. Brandon
    Site Administrator

    Very interesting, I hadn't heard of this before, so I'll definitely look into it more.

    Thanks for the info!

    Posted 2 years ago #

  8. oakwood1
    Member

    Lucrezia,

    Don't let my story frighten you. The surgery may very well help you. I did not have sinus problems before my surgery. I don't think that I ever had a sinus infection before my jaw surgery though. I didn't develop the infections until about 7 years after the surgery. I am praying that removing the plates will relieve the sinus infections. There are screws that are exposed inside my maxilla sinuses (which is normal) and that is why my ENT doctor think that the infections are related to the metal hardware.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  9. oakwood1
    Member

    I had the plate removal surgery 2 days ago and the pain, swelling and facial numbness is very similar to the original jaw surgery. Just hope that the numbness doesn't last for a whole month like it did with the original surgery.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  10. Brandon
    Site Administrator

    Thanks for the update, Oakwood. I hope things go smoothly, and please keep us updated, as this is something I may look into down the road as well.

    Posted 2 years ago #

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