Jaw Surgery Forums » Share Your Jaw Surgery Experience!

my experience

(6 posts)
  1. jae.oh
    Member

    Hey, my name is Jae and I just recently had upper and lower jaw surgery done on Dec.1 to correct and underbite/ openbite. I believe they also worked on the chin to match the new placement of the jaw. I got braces around the end of February 2009, so my surgery came and went a lot quicker than the the anticipated time of up to 1 and half years of presurgical braces. When I woke up from surgery, I had the strangest feeling that my bite had not been corrected because it just didn't feel right. After speaking to the nurse and my parents, I was informed everything had gone well, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. I was later informed by the surgeon that my bite wasn't lining up correctly with the splint. They resolved the matter by aligning the bit to the split with the elastic bands, which really surprised me because I thought that was something done prior to making it out to the recovery room. Once again thought, the doctors told me everything seemed fine and well, so I am looking forward to my first post op meeting next Monday. Everything else seemed pretty consistent with what I had expected. The most difficult problem I had was the excessive nose bleeds (which I made worst by picking at the dry clusters to clear up some airway without waiting for medicine) and the large area of numbness, especially on the lower areas around the lip and chin.

    Well that's all for now, I'll update along the way. If anybody had a similar problem with the splint post surgery and if you can let me know how it turned out, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  2. Brandon
    Site Administrator

    Hey Jae,

    Congrats on a fast and successful surgery so far. I didn't personally have a splint, but it sounds like they got everything straightened out with you, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

    The nosebleeds and numbness are completely normal, and I can remember those being quite frustrating.

    Good luck on your first post-op meeting, and let us know how it goes!

    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. jae.oh
    Member

    Thanks, Brandon. I'm very grateful for this site and forum because it truly helps a lot pre and post surgery. I'm feeling a lot better now, but still have a feeling of pulling in my lower jaw as if my face was biting down incorrectly. I guess that's natural since my face muscles probably got used to the off bite.

    I also forgot to mention that I think my surgeons performed at least a couple of different cuts in my upper law to widen the palate. Is this a common occurrence or has anybody heard of this being done?

    I would really appreciate it if any one else had this happen and could share about it because the teeth do not look straight up top anymore. I'm hoping the improvements come during post-op orthodontics.

    Anyways, tomorrow is my first meeting, I'll keep it updated. Thanks.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  4. Brandon
    Site Administrator

    My pleasure, Jae, and yes, I've definitely heard of widening the palate, because my was very close, and they almost had to do it on me, but they didn't.

    Also, yes, the actual surgery is most important for getting your jaws in the correct position, but the final tweaks and teeth adjustments are done with the braces post-op.

    Let us know how your first meeting goes...

    Posted 2 years ago #
  5. jae.oh
    Member

    Returned from my first meeting and my surgeon said everything looked great and as I had guessed, the splint was to keep the upper jaw together as it healed because it was split into two pieces to widen the palate. The splint will stay on for 4-6 weeks, then I can return to orthodontics. I'm looking forward to that because I hate the splint and my teeth definitely still need work (especially the midline).

    During the appointment, they first undid the super-strong elastic bands and did some cleaning with that nasty salt water type liquid. Then they placed me under some lighter elastic bands and I asked about 5 times if it alright to open my mouth. They assured me it was fine, but I've still tried to keep my jaw shut because I'm super paranoid. Maybe it would have been better to keep the super strong one on lol.

    Getting sick of liquid dieting, not so much because I get hungry or because I can't have solid food, but because it's so inconvenient. When do you start to drink through a straw or straight out of a cup rather than use syringes? That would make life so much easier. Well, that's it for now, I'll keep it updated once anything significant comes up. Feel free to ask any questions or comment. Thanks again.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  6. Brandon
    Site Administrator

    Great to hear everything's going great, Jae. I was the same way about being paranoid to open my jaw too much.

    Once you can open your jaw wide enough, you can begin to drink from a regular cup, but I don't think you're supposed to drink through a straw too soon afterward, as it may create air pockets, so be sure to ask your surgeon about that, because I don't remember the exact time frame.

    Thanks for the update, and keep us informed...

    Posted 2 years ago #

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