Blowing your nose and breaking plates

Message

#1 Post by **smileyone44** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:06 am

Hi Everyone,

I had Lefort I and BSSO last Wednesday and I have a couple of questions:

(1) I know we are not supposed to blow our noses after this sort of jaw surgery, but sometimes I have breathed out of my nose and it sort of gives the effect of blowing it, but I am not really blowing it at all. Is that the sort of thing that can also cause complications? I want to be very careful, but I also have to breathe, does anyone know if there is a difference?

(2) How easy is it to break a plate? I am on a no-chew diet and have stuck by it, but sometimes I move my mouth a little to brush my teeth or try to put wax on a bracket and I have heard little noises, nothing dramatic, but I know the plates are small, so it got me thinking. How would you even know it if you broke a plate?

Anyway, I just really don't want to do this surgery again, does anyone have any thoughts?

Thank you!

#2 Post by **loulou123** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:19 pm

Hey

I only had a bsso, but am guessing the same answers still apply.

1) Breathing out of your nose, will be fine. I think the issue with blowing it is more of a sinus/bleeding issue than any risk of damaging the plate. Also blowing puts much more pressure on then breathing.

2) Id say breaking a plate would be very difficult, as titanium is pretty strong stuff. Your find soon that the surgeon and ortho will actually encourage you to move and open your mouth as much as poss. My surgeon actually told me last week that the only way id break a plate is with a force that would ordinarlly be enough to break your jaw bone anyway. (im 10 weeks post op, but the plate is still the same strength as yours if you see what i mean)

Hope that helps

#3 Post by **smileyone44** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:03 pm

Hey Loulou, thanks for your response! That's good to know about the breathing and the breaking. One thing a nurse at my surgeon's office told me (this is what got me worried) was that the reason we aren't allowed to chew for a month after surgery is because the force of chewing can actually break a plate. I think she said after one month (or so) the bone has healed enough to support the plate better with soft chewing. But based on what your surgeon said, I'm thinking that they must mean to avoid heavy, regular chewing and not just a bite down here or there by accident. I hope so anyway!

#4 Post by **loulou123** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:43 am

As long as you dont chew until they say so im sure itll all be fine

I personally dont know of anyone on here, whose mangaged to break one (apoligises if im wrong tho) so as long as your relatively sensible and follow the instructions your be ok.

#5 Post by **nimo** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:57 am

Maybe they were talking about breaking your splint? My splint was made of plastic and pretty sturdy, but you don't realize the force it takes to chew something up until you're trying to grind it up against that plastic. I can't imagine breaking a titanium plate. I'm not saying it's impossible, but they make airplane parts out of titanium. I definitely had no worries about breaking any of those.