Screws in your face. How scary. :(

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#16 Post by **Andantae** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:03 pm

I know exactly what you mean dubnobass, its almost like an evil little game to make people feel the screws!

LOL!

The 'Closet Loulou' finally comes out!!!

Dubnobass: Way to draw an audience into the story!

BTW, I read your surgery pages a few times--thank you for sharing----it is most helpful and an amazing journey---sporting 6 plates and 30 screws post op---WOW.

For some reason the idea of screws and plates doesn't bother me, either. Maybe it's because 2 years ago I had surgery on a broken leg to replace 2 torn, unusable ligaments. They used cadaver, CADAVER, CA-DAV-ER parts!!!! *EEEEyyyyuuuu!*

My already overactive imagination went rampant---Who was it????? How long had they been dead????? Was he/she just kept in the freezer somewhere nearby or are there various body parts bobbing around in a vat of liquid nirtrogen in some dark laboratory(insert lightening bolt)???? Or do they use handy, and stackable individually marked Tupperware containers? Freezer wrap? Do they just slice off body parts on an As Needed basis? Who was keeping track of the 'freshness' factor and the Expiration Dates

.........???

Someone else's DEAD tissues sewn into me. No, a couple of plates and some screws seem innocuous in contrast!

Elspeth~

I realize it's totally not the same thing, but I wonder if it would help you to feel/see/hold some plates and screws ahead of time. Titanium is unexpectedly feather light, and doesn't have that 'cool' feel to the touch like many metals. Perhpas it would alleviate some of the 'foreign body' weirdness/strangeness to become a little familar with them in advance (albiet in another context)? Just grasping for ideas for you....

#17 Post by **Emaciated** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:00 am

Andantae:

That's a fantastic idea. I would've jumped at the opportunity to handle the hardware that was being drilled into my skull. The closest descriptions I got were from my orthodontist friend (Dr. K) who participated in my surgery. I didn't get to hold or handle any of the screws or fasteners. I would've loved that.

#18 Post by **loulou123** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:27 am

My surgeon actually did this, he had a skull, model and it had the breaks where the cuts are and the plates and screws holding them together.

And then he had some actual plates, so that i could see them, feel them etc. So if anyone thinks this would make them feel better, id definately ask if its possible.

#19 Post by **iBorg** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:55 am

Ummm......

We are the Borg.....we are here to ssimilate you.

Resistance is futile.

(With my user name, I HAD to do it.)

Mike

#20 Post by **Alex Kelly** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:03 am

loulou123 wrote:Hey

This freaked me out a little too, especially just after surgery. But now i need another operation to remove them, and id rather they stayed where they were!

I can feel something on the left side, but on the right cant feel them at all. Some people seem to feel them and some dont i guess

The way i tried to look at it, was that people have transplants and things (eg kidneys etc) quite commonly and that must feel MUCH stranger.

Heh, I'm in your boat my friend. I would much rather they had stayed perfectly clean and in my jaw.

#21 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:04 pm

Here we go... 8 plates, 24 screws, and 1 random piece of wire. I can find most of them if I poke around my face. The ones on either side of my nose are the easiest to feel

#22 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:36 pm

Personally I didn't think it was that big of a deal, I found it to be quite facinating that they are able to do all that now. I can tell you that I can feel a couple of screws, one in my chin and one in my upper jaw in the front. They are not bothersome but there for sure. I can say that I think its totally cool now. I love looking at my xray and seeing all that metal in there. I feel like the bionic woman and I"m so happy that I can breathe, and sleep, and smile, and chew better! Soo sooo worth it!

Oh and I got to see the hardware ahead of time also! My doctor showed them to me on the model he had in his office, when he was explaining things to me. It was pretty cool to see how small things were ahead of time and helped me feel better about it all. Truthfully though the metal was the least of my worries. I was terrified of the whole anethesia thing, thinking I would never wake up and be around for my son. When I did come out of it all, I remember feeling euphoric just that I was alive! The pain was secondary! Here is my metal mouth!

Brandy

#23 Post by **Elspeth** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:51 pm

All of a sudden I'm not so worried about the metal being in my face, but more just that I may be able to feel it. Eiwwww! I'm the type of person who's always moisturing/cleansing/putting on makeup so its a bit scary to think of massaging my skin and then, oh, woops, knocked a screw!

The x rays don't look so bad though. For some reason I was expecting HUGE, construction type screws. I guess they must be really tiny, in that case, for those of you who can feel them, do you have to really poke for them or are they very obvious to the touch?

#24 Post by **loulou123** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:34 am

1 of mines pretty obvious, and i can feel it if i put moisteriser on etc, but after the first few times of feeling it, it really becomes no big deal.

The screws are tiny, but the length of the plate depends upon the amount of adjustment required, eg i had my jaw brought 13mm forward so needed a fairly long plate. (according to my surgeon anyway!)

#25 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:51 am

I have to really press to find mine. The one in my chin is pretty easy to find but really not noticible unless I press around hard looking for it. The one in my upper palate is totally one I have to search for, I don't feel it at all unless I'm digging around trying to feel it.

You are right about the hardware being tiny. My doctor says the metal they use now is stronger then titanium so they are able to make it all very small. My screws were itty bitty as were the plates.

Seriously, don't worry about it, you get scar tissue that fills in around them and it just feels like your normal face.

Brandy

#26 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:04 pm

Mine are very easy to feel. But I am very thin and small, so there is not very much in between the screws and my skin. I can also feel a couple of lumps inside my mouth. If I run my finger along my upper gums, right at the top where the gums meet my cheeks. (Don't know if that makes any sense). Anyways, there are lumps there and I assume they are the bottom ends of the plates.

#27 Post by **JayC** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:43 am

heres mine... funny thing is that i only have screws no plates at all. even for my chin theres only one screw lol. 5 screws total. lower jaw setback and sliding genio. i never think about the screws in my face. i think its cool haha.