Hi, I'm having surgery on Friday. My doctor has said he only wants to do the le fort 1 procedure, but most examples are from people who have gotten both the le fort 1 and a BSSO.
I am wondering if the recovery time was substantially shorter? Was there less swelling and for a shorter period of time? Did you have to do exercises to retrain your jaw to open afterwards? How long did it take to start chewing etc. I'm just wondering what I should be realistically expecting. Thanks in advance!
Anyone who had just a Le Fort 1?
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IamSam12345
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:33 pm
Re: Anyone who had just a Le Fort 1?
I haven't had my jaw surgery yet but I can tell you that having a Lefort is usually an easier recovery, they're operating on just one jaw after all. From what I've read but someone else chime if I'm wrong, nerve damage is much less likely with a Lefort unlike a BSSO or genioplasty.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
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Laundraholic
- Posts: 91
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:19 am
Re: Anyone who had just a Le Fort 1?
I had a Lefort 1 in March. The recovery was MUCH easier than I had anticipated.
The surgeon had stated there was little to no risk of permanent nerve damage with a Lefort (as oppposed to the BSSO).
I needed absolutely no painkillers at all -- as I was numb there was no pain whatsoever.
My feeling in the upper jaw returned gradually, and by the time it all came back (a few weeks, i think?) I was already well on the road to recovery with no pain.
As my lower jaw was untouched (and therefore not numb) it made eating much easier.
Prior to the surgery I had been anticipating a liquid diet for at least a couple of weeks but I was on soft chew by Day 3.
I was able to get in a LOT of calories by cutting the food up extremely small (1/2 a pea size) and then using chopsticks to place right at the back of my mouth rather than trying to fit a baby spoon in there, or using zip-n-squeeze bags (which I found were useful for liquids for the 1st 2 days, but that I didn't need after).
I had read about and was expecting reduced energy and feeling tired all the time, but I think I didn't experience that because I was able to eat well.
I suggest that maybe you go through the "monthly buddies" threads, so you can really see what people go through in the days and weeks immediately following their surgery and can see how recovery differs greatly from person to person and from surgery to surgery.
The surgeon had stated there was little to no risk of permanent nerve damage with a Lefort (as oppposed to the BSSO).
I needed absolutely no painkillers at all -- as I was numb there was no pain whatsoever.
My feeling in the upper jaw returned gradually, and by the time it all came back (a few weeks, i think?) I was already well on the road to recovery with no pain.
As my lower jaw was untouched (and therefore not numb) it made eating much easier.
Prior to the surgery I had been anticipating a liquid diet for at least a couple of weeks but I was on soft chew by Day 3.
I was able to get in a LOT of calories by cutting the food up extremely small (1/2 a pea size) and then using chopsticks to place right at the back of my mouth rather than trying to fit a baby spoon in there, or using zip-n-squeeze bags (which I found were useful for liquids for the 1st 2 days, but that I didn't need after).
I had read about and was expecting reduced energy and feeling tired all the time, but I think I didn't experience that because I was able to eat well.
I suggest that maybe you go through the "monthly buddies" threads, so you can really see what people go through in the days and weeks immediately following their surgery and can see how recovery differs greatly from person to person and from surgery to surgery.