Hi there :)
The day of, of course, my nerves were totally frazzled! I'm also a nurse, so hopefully that will help me explain some things if needed...just ask! Here's how it all went down for me:
The nurse called me into the pre-op area, where I was allowed only one visitor (my hubby), she had me change to a gown, got my vital signs, and asked me some questions about my medical history. Then she started an IV with just plain fluid, no medications in it. Then the anesthesiologist came in to talk with me. She, too, asked me a bunch of questions about my health history. After my surgeon arrived, came and talked to me and made sure I didn't have anymore questions, the anesthesiologist came back in and gave me a med called versed in the IV. It made me really sleepy and happy-feeling...I don't remember anything after that...not being wheeled into the OR, or coming out, or the recovery room! The next thing I remember was them waking me up in my hospital room, to have me scoot from the stretcher to the bed. They hooked up a small, flexible suction tubing and put it next to me on the bed so that I could put it in my mouth if I needed to (for drooling, vomiting or drainage). I did not have to have a urinary catheter during the surgery because it was only 2hrs long. But, had it been longer, they said they may have had to use one, but it would've been removed before I left the recovery room (which, again, I wouldn't have remembered anyway). I had two big ice packs that had velcro straps that went around the back of my head and under my chin to keep the packs on either side of my head. My throat hurt, which probably was from having the tube down my nose and into my airway. It wasn't too bad, maybe a 1 out of 10 on a pain scale. It felt good to drink warm water/tea. I still had my IV in place to help keep me hydrated and it allowed me to have morphine through it. Anytime I needed a morphine dose, I had a button I could push that told the machine to give me dose (preprogrammed, so you're not able to overdose on it!) Pretty much, I slept the majority of the time in the hospital. I had my husband, my mom or the nurse help me up to the bathroom every time, cause I felt really dizzy, probably from the morphine. I was discharged the next morning and instructed to go straight to my surgeon's office, which we had previously discussed. When I got there, they took a panoramic xray (the kind that goes around your head). That was cool, you could see all the screws and plates in place. I didn't have much swelling at all that day, but the dr warned me, "you look way too good, this is probably gonna get worse over the next few days." Man, did it! Days 3-5 were probably the worst for swelling and discomfort. I just felt so much pressure in my face and head, like a terrible sinus headache coming on. I kept ice on pretty much around-the-clock for the first 3 days or so, after that, I used it off and on throughout the day/night. After about a week, it felt better to use a heating pad on my head than ice.
So that's my extremely long, drawn out, detailed experience! This site was sooooo helpful to me! My husband kept telling me not to research so much, cause I'd get freaked out all the time, but it was definitely better to be prepared and at least, somewhat, know what to expect.
Hope this all helps you..and if you have questions at all, that's what all of us are here for!
Good luck to you!
I had upper jaw surgery 2/3/10...well on my way to recovery, a great smile and finally being able to chew normally!
