A few months ago I posted on here just getting ready for jaw surgery in june. I wrote that both my brother and I were having the same surgery on the same day, talk about double duty!! my surgery was first and I had to be at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning, my brother had to go in at 8:30. I was so excited because ever since I got my braces off for the first time a year and a half ago my jaw grew even more and my bite has been off and my underbite got worse. So in march I got braces again to prepare for surgery (my brother is currently on his fifth round of braces at 22 years old, I am 18 and on my second round) I was really excited and ready to go the morning of surgery (june 28) I knew that my mouth problems would soon be over and I would be able to finally EAT again!!! So finally, at 7:30 a.m. I went under the knife. My sugery only took an hour and a half, my brother's took two and a half, my surgeon was a godsend, he really is so amazing!! What he did was break and move forward my top jaw (to correct my "flat face" and underbite) and move my lower jaw slightly to the right so my midline was even. I remember waking up and the first thing I noticed was my teeth actually matched up!! I couldn't believe the difference it was like magic almost! My brother's surgery was a little more extensive, along with the same problem I had (with the asymmetry) he also had an "open bite" so they fixed that and they also widened his top palate by 8 millimeters so he had to have a splint,which disabled him from talking. He also had to have a chin implant. he finally got his splint off about two weeks ago!! The first week after surgery was the hardest part. He and I both refused to eat anything the first three or four days because we didn't feel hungry at all (our surgeon gave us a talking-to when he found out) so after that we lived on soup and ensure (which I LOVED, try the strawberries and cream flavor!!) in syringes for the next week whether we wanted it or not.through all this I have lost 10 pounds that I really didn't need to lose, I now am 100 pounds and I plan on gaining it back! And he lost a whopping 25 pounds!!I admit I broke down once or twice after a sudden syringe explosion (a chunk of tomato in some soup got stuck and it exploded everywhere) and just out of frustration. Then finally we were allowed to eat soft food and suck on straws!! That was such a great day for both of us, my mom actually cried when the Dr told us!! There had been little to no pain at all, there is some in my cheeks but I only notice it when I lay down to go to bed. Now, 5 weeks later we are still doing well, both VERY satisfied with the results, we do look a bit different than we did before, but in the best ways possible, I have cheeks now!!! Next week we get to eat and chew normal food again. Chicken parmesan here I come!! And in two weeks when we hit our 8 week mark, I finally get to go ride my road bike again after 2 months of zero-activity, it will be a great feeling!! If I had a choice, I would definitely do this whole experience over again. It is so worth it and it has truly changed my life and how I feel about myself, for those of you who are having jaw surgery in the future, you have nothing to be afraid of or worry about, it will be so worth it in the end and you will benefit from it for the rest of your life!!!
-Kate
Jaw Surgery Forums » Share Your Jaw Surgery Experience!
one more week to go-solid food here i come!!!
(3 posts)-
thecoloryellow45
MemberPosted 1 year ago # -
thecoloryellow45
MemberOh and by the way all my swelling has completely gone, which I wasn't expecting. Most people have it up to 2 months...one girl I know had swelling after 6. I feel very lucky that everything went to well... my brother still has some swelling in his chin and cheeks but it goes down more and more every day.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Brandon
Site AdministratorWow, that's awesome, Kate, glad to hear everything is going so well!
Your swelling went down really quickly which is great too.
If you or your brother want to share your before/after photos, there's a contest going here:
http://www.jawsurgeryblog.com/corrective-jaw-surgery-upload-photos-win-a-prize/
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/114627165257701Posted 1 year ago #
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