My surgeon confirmed that I'll only have to stay in the hospital for two days, if all goes as planned. In particular, she thought the hospital would have trouble providing a vegan liquid diet, and told us to bring our own food and to go home as soon as possible. The procedure itself will probably take about four hours, longer than we'd thought, meaning recovery will go a bit more slowly, so I'm definitely planning on three weeks off work (I work with children, so it's very active). I will have a catheter (sigh), but it should be both inserted and removed while I'm unconscious, so that's something. I may or may not have the splint removed before I wake up, depending on how the surgery goes. Likewise wiring my jaws closed; she'll decide during surgery. I take regular daily meds (five pills), and she told me to check with the pharmacist to see if they could be crushed. If so, I'll try adding them to mango nectar in a syringe (as I read about elsewhere on this board). If not, I have no idea what to do about that. I asked about pain meds, and she said she would give me codeine or hydrocodone if I needed it. I'm a little worried about this, since it seems many folks get morphine or at least percocet or the like. So I'm prepared to be a squeaky wheel during recovery if I'm in too much pain. She also said that she wouldn't give me anti-nausea meds unless I start vomiting, which seems a little late to me, but hopefully it won't be an issue.
The bone graft for the genio will be synthetic (made from coral). This is cool, because I wasn't too keen on donating my own or using a bovine or cadaver graft. The surgeon will be going through my cheeks (near the jaw line, about 2-3 stitches each) to affix three tiny screws on each side, but the rest of the incisions will be intra-oral (inside my mouth). There'll be some physical therapy exercises afterwards, both to lengthen my jaw muscles and to prevent any intra-oral scar tissue from getting in my way. I'll be arriving at the hospital at 6:30A, with surgery scheduled for 8:30A. I should be out of the OR and into PACU by 1P. I received various instructions about avoiding aspirin or ibuprofen, not eating after midnight and not drinking water after 5:30A, etc. I also got a list of prohibitions during recovery, like lifting more than 10 lbs. for 4 weeks, standing in the shower, washing my own hair (I suppose this is about lifting my arms over my head?), sleeping flat/on my side, etc. After the pre-op, I went to the lab for a blood panel and urine pregnancy test she requested, and all results came back fine. My maxillofacial surgical team seems competent, which bodes well, since my head is, you know, where I keep all my stuff.
I go under the knife in six days, and I'm getting so many packages from my Amazon.com list of surgery resources that I feel like it's my birthday! (Well, sort of. If my birthday present were getting my skull sawed open. Um.) Here's a link to the Amazon list I made, since it might help others preparing for surgery: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishl ... d&x=9&y=11.
My Amazon list:
-Preparing for Surgery: Guided Imagery Exercises for Relaxation and Accelerated Healing CD (I've been listening to this every evening. I'm finding it quite helpful, although I had to laugh when, at one point in the initial relaxation exercise, the narrator beseeches the listener to "notice the intelligence in your feet.")
-Lymphatic Drainage Massage DVD (supposed to reduce swelling after surgery)
-Hermell Dual Position Comfort Bed Wedge Pillow
-Petite Core Orthopedic Support Pillow
-Dry-Erase Whiteboard, 11x17 w/ marker
-Iso-Rich Vegetarian Soy Protein Powder
-Calcium Citrate Powder
-Duro-Med Shower Tub Stool
-Extra Gentle Soft Tip Spoons
-Neosporin Lip Treatment
Can you believe my friends bought the entire list for me when I posted a link on my blog? My grandparents also loaded up a Jamba Juice card with smoothie goodness, and they're loaning me a humidifier. I really appreciate their support, and I'm confident that the surgery will go smoothly. (Actually, I'm alternating between confident and abjectly terrified.) I also picked up a couple of Zip-N-Squeeze kits and their ice/heat jaw wrap, sippy cups (w/ removable valve), bulb aspirator, and liquid Tylenol. I still need to get an infant toothbrush, liquid decongestant, and lots of appropriate food for recovery. (All of a sudden, my braces don't seem so bad!
I'm eating more than I have in months.) I'm planning on picking up broth, pureed soups (like butternut squash), soy/nut milks, frozen fruit for smoothies, potatoes for mashing and thinning, soy yogurt, juice, hot cereals, silken tofu, puddings, perhaps some ice cream for shakes... Am I forgetting anything?My blog is here: http://chalepa-ta-kala.livejournal.com/, and most posts about the surgery can be found here: http://chalepa-ta-kala.livejournal.com/tag/jaw.
Hopefully they'll let your toesies in!!! 
, it might be a nice way to pamper yourself post-op to schedule another pedicure as soon as you're up to it! Or maybe a friend would be happy to do that for you until you're out and about.