Today is post-surgery #1 day number 16 and my first day back to work. Everything went very well except I hit the wall energy-wise around two o'clock in the afternoon. Plus I definitely feel it in my jaw tonight ... I did quite a bit more talking today than any other day up to this point.
I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday so I'll have the weekend to recover and prepare for next week's surgery.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Weight Just a Minute
Two weeks post-surgery #1 and I've dropped just over 10 pounds. While I wouldn't advocate jaw surgery as a diet, it sure does work.
Speaking of jaw surgery and diets, Delag (a contributor over at the Archwired web-site) found a really good web-site dedicated to those people who have their jaws wired / banded for whatever reason. The web-site is called *8 Weeks Wired* and offers advice on such topics as pre & post surgery care, nutrition, recipes, supplies, et cetera. I haven't had a chance to go through the whole web-site yet ... will do that prior to next week's surgery.
Speaking of jaw surgery and diets, Delag (a contributor over at the Archwired web-site) found a really good web-site dedicated to those people who have their jaws wired / banded for whatever reason. The web-site is called *8 Weeks Wired* and offers advice on such topics as pre & post surgery care, nutrition, recipes, supplies, et cetera. I haven't had a chance to go through the whole web-site yet ... will do that prior to next week's surgery.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Surgery -- Round #2
Well, had my follow-up this morning and the Surgeons determined that the open bite caused by my surgery a couple of weeks ago can't be corrected with elastic bands or further work by the Orthodontist. They said that the most likely cause is "hardware failure" ... a problem with the titanium plate and/or screws. While I think that's possible I think it's just as likely that the Surgeon secured the titanium plates in the wrong position.
So, I now have another surgery date for Tuesday, 3 April 2007 and get to go through this whole process again. Yay me!!!
The Surgeons will be using the same incisions as before and will remove the current hardware, reposition the lower jaw, and then attach new hardware. The main differences this time is that the bones haven't had time yet to reattach fully so it'll be easier to dislocate the lower jaw and the chin augmentation surgery has already been done so I don't have to worry about that.
Now it's time for me to go grab a couple of Coronas and see if I can't figure out how to make myself a cheesecake milk shake.
So, I now have another surgery date for Tuesday, 3 April 2007 and get to go through this whole process again. Yay me!!!
The Surgeons will be using the same incisions as before and will remove the current hardware, reposition the lower jaw, and then attach new hardware. The main differences this time is that the bones haven't had time yet to reattach fully so it'll be easier to dislocate the lower jaw and the chin augmentation surgery has already been done so I don't have to worry about that.
Now it's time for me to go grab a couple of Coronas and see if I can't figure out how to make myself a cheesecake milk shake.
Friday, March 23, 2007
So Here's the Latest - 23 March 2007
To recap ... the day after the surgery (Wednesday, 14 March 2007) the Surgeons decided to use tight elastic bands because it appeared that my jaw muscles wanted to "pull" my lower jaw into a different position than the one it should be in.
This past Wednesday I had my first post-surgery appointment with the Surgeons. During the appointment they removed the elastics and, I kid you not, I literally felt my lower jaw drop open. It was kind of like the slack-jawed response you sometimes see people give when they've witnessed something they just can't believe. I'd say it was no more than 1/4 inch or so, no pain, no problems whatsoever. It just surprised me a tad and made me want to hold my lower jaw closed with a free hand for a bit until I was sure the blasted thing worked properly.
As I said previously, the Surgeon said they were going not going to replace the elastics because they wanted to see if the bite held the correct position without them ... she said that was their normal method although almost all of the other post-surgery accounts I've come across this is not done. They took more digital x-rays, set me up with an appointment for the following Wednesday (I've got a standing appointment every Wednesday for six weeks post-surgery) and I was on my way.
Well, it took less than one day for the lower jaw to move back into the same position it was in the first morning after surgery. Now, both the upper and lower mid-lines are in alignment with each other, the lower jaw appears to be in the correct position relative to the upper jaw ... the only thing is that the only teeth currently touching are one or two molars (hard to say how many due to the residual swelling) on the right side. I called the Surgeon Thursday morning (22 March 2007) and they set me up for an appointment first thing this morning (Friday, 23 March 2007).
So I leave the house at 5:30 this morning, two hours early due to the notoriously bad Northern Virginia / Washington DC traffic, and wouldn't you know it, there wasn't any traffic! I actually arrived at the hospital right around 6:15 am. I'd rather be early than late but my appointment wasn't until 7:30 am. I was in time, however, to speak with one of yesterday's surgery patients who was getting his morning after check-up / x-rays ... well, I did the speaking and he, because he had both upper and lower jaw surgery, just kinda looked at me. I told him to hang in there, that it was all down hill from here, that the swelling and discomfort were all temporary, and that it would all be behind him before he knew it.
I finally get in to see the Surgeon and, after a bit of consultation with the Chief Surgeon, they decided to take more x-rays and leave the elastic bands off for the weekend. I do, however, have another appointment Monday morning (26 March 2007) and this time I expect it'll be a meeting between me, the Surgeons and the Orthodontist (he's co-located in the same area in the hospital) in order to determine exactly what is going on and the best course(s) of action to take.
So here's what I think may be the issue:
1) My jaw muscles need to be "retrained" and I'll go back into elastics on Monday; or,
2) My lower jaw is in the proper position and the orthodontist (once he's been given the go-ahead to continue treatment) will do his magic to realign the possibly wayward molar(s); or,
This past Wednesday I had my first post-surgery appointment with the Surgeons. During the appointment they removed the elastics and, I kid you not, I literally felt my lower jaw drop open. It was kind of like the slack-jawed response you sometimes see people give when they've witnessed something they just can't believe. I'd say it was no more than 1/4 inch or so, no pain, no problems whatsoever. It just surprised me a tad and made me want to hold my lower jaw closed with a free hand for a bit until I was sure the blasted thing worked properly.
As I said previously, the Surgeon said they were going not going to replace the elastics because they wanted to see if the bite held the correct position without them ... she said that was their normal method although almost all of the other post-surgery accounts I've come across this is not done. They took more digital x-rays, set me up with an appointment for the following Wednesday (I've got a standing appointment every Wednesday for six weeks post-surgery) and I was on my way.
Well, it took less than one day for the lower jaw to move back into the same position it was in the first morning after surgery. Now, both the upper and lower mid-lines are in alignment with each other, the lower jaw appears to be in the correct position relative to the upper jaw ... the only thing is that the only teeth currently touching are one or two molars (hard to say how many due to the residual swelling) on the right side. I called the Surgeon Thursday morning (22 March 2007) and they set me up for an appointment first thing this morning (Friday, 23 March 2007).
So I leave the house at 5:30 this morning, two hours early due to the notoriously bad Northern Virginia / Washington DC traffic, and wouldn't you know it, there wasn't any traffic! I actually arrived at the hospital right around 6:15 am. I'd rather be early than late but my appointment wasn't until 7:30 am. I was in time, however, to speak with one of yesterday's surgery patients who was getting his morning after check-up / x-rays ... well, I did the speaking and he, because he had both upper and lower jaw surgery, just kinda looked at me. I told him to hang in there, that it was all down hill from here, that the swelling and discomfort were all temporary, and that it would all be behind him before he knew it.
I finally get in to see the Surgeon and, after a bit of consultation with the Chief Surgeon, they decided to take more x-rays and leave the elastic bands off for the weekend. I do, however, have another appointment Monday morning (26 March 2007) and this time I expect it'll be a meeting between me, the Surgeons and the Orthodontist (he's co-located in the same area in the hospital) in order to determine exactly what is going on and the best course(s) of action to take.
So here's what I think may be the issue:
1) My jaw muscles need to be "retrained" and I'll go back into elastics on Monday; or,
2) My lower jaw is in the proper position and the orthodontist (once he's been given the go-ahead to continue treatment) will do his magic to realign the possibly wayward molar(s); or,
3) *this one really concerns me* The Surgeons may have incorrectly decided I didn't need to have the upper jaw surgery and will now have to go back and widen the upper jaw (either with a SARPE device or a Lefort I procedure). I imagine the Orthodontist might be able to still realign the molars if this is the case so maybe surgery won't be needed.
On a positive note -- I can now drink liquids using a regular glass. I'll hang on to the Zip-N-Squeeze bags for now though ... just in case.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
One Week Post Surgery Update
Okay, it's been exactly one week since I was released from the Hospital after having both lower jaw surgery and genioplasty (chin surgery). Up to now I have been very tightly banded with elastic bands and have been on a blended/liquids only diet.
Well, today the Surgeons decided to remove the bands to see how the jaws align without the added structure. The lead Surgeon's usual course of action for lower jaw surgery is to forego the elastics as long as the jaws remain in the desired position. I have another post surgery appointment next Wednesday (28 March) and they will decide then whether or not I need to go back into elastics. Here's hoping I don't but I think I just might have to ... we'll see. And I'm still on the blended/liquids only diet.
Below are comparison photos of a couple of days before the surgery and today. Both photos are showing my "natural" bite at the time of the photo.
Well, today the Surgeons decided to remove the bands to see how the jaws align without the added structure. The lead Surgeon's usual course of action for lower jaw surgery is to forego the elastics as long as the jaws remain in the desired position. I have another post surgery appointment next Wednesday (28 March) and they will decide then whether or not I need to go back into elastics. Here's hoping I don't but I think I just might have to ... we'll see. And I'm still on the blended/liquids only diet.
Below are comparison photos of a couple of days before the surgery and today. Both photos are showing my "natural" bite at the time of the photo.
11 March 2007
21 March 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Aarrgghh
Finally got to sleep about 3:00 am this morning and almost immediately had the following dream.
I was at the beach when all of a sudden the sand started hardening like cement around my head. I was struggling to breathe and could only barely breathe through my mouth ... my nose was completely closed.
I woke up thrashing around and realized that I was attempting to breathe through my mouth which continues to be very tightly banded closed.
My next post-surgery appointment is tomorrow. Here's hoping they replace the current bands with ones that aren't quite as tight.
I was at the beach when all of a sudden the sand started hardening like cement around my head. I was struggling to breathe and could only barely breathe through my mouth ... my nose was completely closed.
I woke up thrashing around and realized that I was attempting to breathe through my mouth which continues to be very tightly banded closed.
My next post-surgery appointment is tomorrow. Here's hoping they replace the current bands with ones that aren't quite as tight.
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Rainbow Passage
I found the below over at the Archwired community web-site. One of it's regular contributors, KiwiKaren, says that reciting the Rainbow Passage supposedly helps jaw surgery patients relearn how to make the proper sounds associated with "normal" speech. This is important because slight speech impediments occur ("s" turns into "sh", etc...) due to the repositioning of the jaw muscles.
When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The Rainbow Passage
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