Hi there! I am now at 13 weeks postop from a BSSO (lower jaw advancement ~7mm). The postop period was OK: I didn't get any infection, I was not banded shut and I felt just discomfort, not real pain. Well, I had a splint wired to the lower jaw for the first 4 weeks, so it was no fun but I could live with it. I'm also 90% sure that I didn't get any plate, just three small screw per each side - soon I will see the surgeon (3 months postop RDV) so I will check. Just to complete my profile, I am on lingual braces - have been so for one year before the surgery and I hope that in a few months I will be done with them. At the moment I have also some surgical hooks (labial, of course, not lingual), used first for the surgery and now to wear elastics at night.
I am happy with my new profile. However, I am quite concerned by the shape of my lower jaw and generally speaking of all my lower face, frontal view. The jaw looks crooked and not straight, the left side worse than the right one. The whole lower face, from half the jaw onwards, appears very big and snout-like; apart from being unbecoming, it seems really unnatural. It's difficult to judge whether it is residual swelling or bone realigned in a weird shape.
Here are my questions for you guys, hoping that you can help:
a) Has anybody experienced a similar effect?
b) What kind of imaging (front x-rays? Panoramic x-rays) could the surgeon use to understand if it's bone or tissue related, or (very likely) both?
c) It could be deep scarring tissue, harder and bulkier than normal tissue. What can one do in that case? Just wait?
Any suggestions or piece of advice is gladly welcomed!
