Surgery on Saturday update - 2 weeks on and 3lbs fatter!

[dragonfang]

I finally had my BSSO and genioplasty on 19th May 2007. It was a nightmare getting there, with my orthodontist leaving town at the end of Feb after getting me ready for surgery and then in March being basically dumped by the Dental Hospital's surgeon. Hasty arrangements were then made to find a decent surgeon then, I forgot to mention before, there was hassle with my insurers who said that they would then would not cover it - they finally surrendered. To top it all, my nice new surgeon had a death in his immediate family and the surgery had to put back to 19th May.

I was so relieved to finally get to the hospital! Here is a brief(ish) outline of what has happened since...


Day 1 Surgery Day
I arrive bright eyed and bushey tailed at 9am; my surgery is scheduled for 10-30. My room is quite pleasant with a peaceful view of parkland. My nurse is lovely and I am pleased that I will have her until the nightshift takes over. I am very suspicious of the paper underwear they have left out for me... Surgeon pops in for a chat then the anaesthetist. I stress that I am a coward and have an aversion to pain. She is very sympathetic but insists I wear the paper knickers. She is not happy with my ponytail and plaits my hair for me. I look like an aged Pocahontas..

Having set up an array of feeding syringes and Zip n' Squeeze bags filled with water and non alcohol mouthwash on my bedside cabinet ( as well as a multitude of other items, like vaseline etc ) I go down to theatre.

As they are getting me prepped I ask the anaesthetist about the paper knickers. Apparently they are going to stick a painkilling suppository up my backside!!! Charming!!! - Yes it is essential. No, I cannot do it myself before the surgery and no, I cannot do it after the surgery. ( At this point I am arguing with them and repeatedly taking the gas mask off my face to make sure they can hear me.) In the end I decide that resistance is futile; once I am asleep they will do it anyway.

2-30 and I am awake in recovery. I think I must have been mumbling while semi conscious as I can talk OK right away. My lips don't hurt and I'm not really in any pain. They have put vaseline on my lips as they feel nice and greasy. My face just feels very tight and half frozen.

3pm I am back in my room and rehydrating myself using my feeding syringes. By 4pm my head has cleared and I feel remarkably good for someone who has just has a GA, not groggy at all. I go to the bathroom. Big mistake! While I'm in there the anaesthetist decides to visit me. I am much chastised for not asking the nurse to supervise my journey to the bathroom- it is all of 3 steps away. I promise to behave myself in future.

6-30pm Dinner! By now I am starving and really enjoy the beef broth followed by ice cream and a nice cup of tea. I can open my mouth wide enough to get my middle finger in so I can manage a soup spoon - as long as I take careful aim... I spend the rest of the evening watching TV and drinking lots of water using syringes then Zip n' Squeeze bags.

Overnight - have a strange night. I have these peculiar massage devices strapped to my leg to prevent DVT. Every 5 mins or so they massage your ankle, then calf, then just below the knee. Every time I am about to doze off it feels like someone has crept into my room and is massaging my legs. In the end I decide to assume that it is just George Clooney and I actually nod off to sleep.


Day2 Going Home
Porridge and yoghurt for breakfast. My face looks a little more swollen today, but not bad. I'm still not really in pain but am taking the painkillers anyway just to be on the safe side. I don't have any numbness as such but there is an area of altered sensation in my lower lip and chin. It is not as bad as I expected. My surgeon comes to see me. He is happy with me and says I can go home. He peels the tape off my lower face - this is the most painful part of my hospital stay! I am delighted that he didn't need to make any puncture holes in my cheeks - I had been worried about this as I scar really badly and would have had purple marks for the next 4 or 5 years. After lunch of soup and ice cream I go home.

1-30pm arrive home by taxi.

2pm I go shopping. Yes, go shopping! I did initially just go out for a newspaper but once out out I decided to indulge myself.

Evening spent watching TV and chatting to friends by phone. I am using the Zip n' Squueze jaw wrap with ice packs which I find really helpful. For dinner soup with chunks of bread torn up in it to fill me up a little. Then ice cream. Ended the evening with one small glass of wine. Sinful.
Trying to sleep sitting up is not easy. Lashings of Vaseline keeps the lips comfortable overnight.

Day 3
My face is hugely swollen. I look grotesque. It is hard to tell whether I look better with the jaw wrap or worse. My Ex comes to visit me for lunch and laughs hysterically when he sees me... He has brought flowers so he is allowed in despite his less than chivalrous behaviour. We have homemade salmon mousse ( dead easy to make ) and champagne. Once he has gone I realise that jaw surgery is a miraculous (but, sadly, temporary) cure for wrinkles. My face is so puffed out that there is not a wrinkle in sight! More soup with bread for dinner followed by ice cream. Still no bad pain other than when I accidentally catch the stitches when brushing my teeth. Owwch.

My lower lip is so swollen that my brace brackets are digging into it, almost causing it to be cut in places. I very cleverly put lots of wax over the brace after lunch and that does help. I get a fright though when I brush my teeth after dinner. The inside of my lip has gone a very nasty yellow colour where my lip has been pressed against the wax. I think that my mouthwash may have reacted with the orthodontic wax. I decide to forgo the wax and put up with the discomfort and after a few hours the inside of my lip is a healthy pink again.


Day 4
Go to orthodontist today to have elastics fitted. It is not too bad. Still look grotesque. I am not in much, if any, pain but still taking pain meds because I am a coward. I feel a bit of a fraud not being at work ( I have booked a week off) so I do some work at home. I'm bored with soup so I made Shepherd's pie for dinner. I remember that someone on Archwired mentioned a tongue scraper. I have one that I hardly ever use. It is super - my tongue is now stripped of nasty fur. It is quite hard to clean it properly with a toothbrush when you cannot open your mouth very wide.


Day 5
Still horribly swollen despite ice packs and sleeping (or trying to) sitting up. My right lower jaw aches a little. I go to the gym today, taking it easy on the crosstrainer and a brisk walk on the treadmill. I feel much better for it. Pasta with salmon for dinner with a decent white burgundy.

Day 6
Swelling has gone down quite a lot today but right side of jaw still aches. I go to the gym again. I have my 1 week post op meeting with my surgeon. He seems delighted with the result and I have to go back to see him in about 3 weeks. He is not keen on me going to the gym. However, on questioning, it seems that this is because he is afraid my face might get knocked. What sort of place does he think I go to??? I assure him that no one is going to punch me in the face and I will not hurl my face at any of the machines and he is happy. Bless him. I go out for a Chinese meal in the evening. The crab and sweetcorn soup is gorgeous but I have a few problems with the seafood noodles - I just cannot manage the king prawns and have to slice them into minute pieces. I must look slightly neurotic to anyone watching me.


Days 7 to 9
More of the same. Swelling slowly going down, though I'm still using the ice packs from time to time. Just taking pain meds at night to help me sleep and because I'm a coward. Still cannot sleep properly sitting up. I must look like the ghoul in the old movie The Legend of Hell House. I would certainly terrify any burglar...

Day 10
Back to orthodontist today. HE CHANGED MY LOWER ARCHWIRE!!! Agony. Had tears in my eyes at one point. It felt not only that the wound was being torn apart but that the jaw was being refractured. It is to allow my lower back teeth to move up. I also got different elastics for the same purpose. To make matters worse, this is my first day back at work. Jaw aches a lot after the torture in the orthodontist's chair, probably compounded by me chatting to everyone in the office. Took solace in ice cream.

Days 11 to 13
Further gradual improvement. I'm now sleeping normally on my side but I find that my face is slightly more swollen when I wake up on a morning. Right side of lower jaw still aches but it is not too bad. I have been a little naughty and cut the knotts off my stitches at the front of my mouth as they were giving me grief. They are now much better. Still have some altered sensation on my lower lip and chin, but I just ignore it - it really is nothing to worry about and it should in any event gradually improve. I'm really happy with the result of my surgery. I previously had to slide my lower jaw forward most of the time or I looked like I had a very small chin and large nose. The result of the surgery is very similar for the profile ( without me having to keep my lower jaw 4 or 5 mm forward ) but lengthens (and slims) my face slightly when viewed from the front.

Day 14
Got weighed today. I am 3lb heavier than I was on the morning of my surgery. ****** typical!!!


Hope this is of some help to those of you about to undergo surgery. If you are hoping to lose some weight during this episode I can only suggest that you stay well clear of the ice cream...