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#76 Post by **vincejawsurgery** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:45 pm

It just keeps getting better day after day. I am 2 weeks post op and today I feel great. I have lost 7-8 kg since my surgery..

#77 Post by **Josh'smom** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:34 pm

Josh is one week post op today. We made our 3rd trip to the Oral Surgeon and he is very pleased. He said Josh can start on soft foods. He was very hungry last night and today, so we were happy about that!

He is able to talk well enough to understand, but does this drool and slurp thing a LOT. We are hoping he can return to 7th grade by Sept 7th, but he simply cannot go to middle school doing the drool and slurp thing!

I wonder how long that will last?

#78 Post by **vincejawsurgery** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:29 pm

I'm just curious... I didn't know 13 year olds can do jaw surgeries.

My surgeon told me he can only operate until a patient's puberty is over.

Could someone enlighten me on this subject? I have at least 3 cousins with the same jaw problem as me.

#79 Post by **baileymc** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:59 am

Frank- Thing should be looking up very fast, I agree first few days were horrible.

Glad to hear Josh is on to soft foods! very exciting. I am off to see my surgeon tommorrow and i am crossing my fingers i will also be able to start soft food

I am getting so hungry! Went to Boston Pizza with some friends today, which was great to get out but it was hard watching everyone eat while i sipped on my iced tea... but the server decided to give it to me free of charge because he felt bad for me.. aww

I also have some stitches inside my my mouth on my lower lip that seem to have come loose? I have a very unattractive flap of skin almost resting on my bottom brackets.. Hopefully we can fix everything tommorrow at my appointment.

Oh I am so happy today, I havent touched my pain medication for 3 days now and feeling just wonderful. AND my swelling is down ALOT.

yay! I hope everyone is feeling as fantastic as I am

#80 Post by **Josh'smom** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:58 am

vincejawsurgery wrote:I'm just curious... I didn't know 13 year olds can do jaw surgeries.

My surgeon told me he can only operate until a patient's puberty is over.

Could someone enlighten me on this subject? I have at least 3 cousins with the same jaw problem as me.

I think this decision is best made case by case. While generally this is true, there will always be cases when it is appropriate.

You three cousins could always go in for a consult.

#81 Post by **Josh'smom** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:02 am

Bailey, we've been trying to be very sensitive to Josh and his inability to eat - especially while he was so hungry. But I don't think he would have been happy to be in a pizza place and not eat! LOL You must've enjoyed just getting out to go there!

He has asked if we could blender up a cheeseburger for him. I just can't bring myself to do that!

You will be eating pizza soon though. Sounds like you are doing well. I'm so glad! Just to have the energy to get out has got to feel good.

#82 Post by **Audra** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:01 am

I had a blended cheeseburger. It was the best thing EVER!. Just mix in a lot of beef broth.

I also ate chicken pie, chili, Indian food (butter chicken with rice).

I have a facebook friend who's husband made "real meals' and blended everything for her - pizza, pasta, everything really.

If Josh wants a cheeseburger - please blend one for him. It will look gross, but he will think it's heavenly. Trust me.

#83 Post by **Josh'smom** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:12 am

Okay Audra! I'll do that today and see how it goes.

You are right!

#84 Post by **Audra** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:27 am

Make sure you blend it REALLY well. I didn't and my syringe exploded - the tubing flew off and I had burger everywhere. But real food really does blend well. It just looks disgusting.

#85 Post by **aliciaj212** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:57 am

Hi, everyone, I'm now officially 2 weeks post-op!

Glad to hear that everyone else is doing well in their respective stages.

I'm pretty sure that I'm hooking my bands to my surgical screws, but it doesn't gross me out as much as it did in the beginning. I'm getting my stitches removed on Friday! Really excited to not having to see these spider legs coming out of my gums.

Recipe for a delicious smoothie that I stole from somebody's blog, but I can't remember whom:
strawberries
bananas
1 cup soymilk
1 scoop ice cream
1 spoonful of peanut butter

Delicious & fattening!

#86 Post by **braceface23** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:29 pm

Yo all, day 13 today. Everything is back to normally mentally.. My lower jaw is still completely numb, lower lip still completely numb. Top lip has some feeling in it. Swelling is going down but I'm definately still swolen. The yellow bruising seems to have disappeared. Still very hard to talk, anyone else having problems talk unbanded?

#87 Post by **vincejawsurgery** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:53 pm

I have been telling my cousins to consider surgery.

I have 2 cousins who are teenagers and it is too late for them to fix their jaws with orthodontics. They will require surgery after they have stopped growing.

I have a male cousin who is 8 years old and his parents do not seem to want him to receive treatment to prevent his jaws from growing worse for some strange reason. They would rather wait till he is an adult before deciding.

However, due to opposition from their parents who think they are fine and their protruding lower jaw is a sign of good luck and wealth, they may not go ahead with the surgery even if they wanted to.

Coming from a Chinese family, I understand how it feels like for them to try to conform to their parents' wishes even though it may go against what they want. It took me a couple of years before I decided to piss off my family and go ahead with the braces and surgery.

My Dad has not visited me or spoken to me since 3 days after the surgery. I am not sure if he is unhappy with me or something but he has opposed this surgery of mine.

I have 2 aunties and 1 uncle on my Dad's side that have jaw deformities but they have chosen to live with it. My sister's 2 year old son, is showing signs of an underbite. She is concerned and is willing to try preventive measures to stop his jaws from growing out of alignment after seeing all the trouble it took me to fix mine in adulthood.

This seems to run in my Dad's family and I am not sure what to think of it. Is it a curse or a blessing?

#88 Post by **Josh'smom** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:32 pm

vincejawsurgery wrote:I have been telling my cousins to consider surgery.

I have 2 cousins who are teenagers and it is too late for them to fix their jaws with orthodontics. They will require surgery after they have stopped growing.

I have a male cousin who is 8 years old and his parents do not seem to want him to receive treatment to prevent his jaws from growing worse for some strange reason. They would rather wait till he is an adult before deciding.

However, due to opposition from their parents who think they are fine and their protruding lower jaw is a sign of good luck and wealth, they may not go ahead with the surgery even if they wanted to.

Coming from a Chinese family, I understand how it feels like for them to try to conform to their parents' wishes even though it may go against what they want. It took me a couple of years before I decided to piss off my family and go ahead with the braces and surgery.

My Dad has not visited me or spoken to me since 3 days after the surgery. I am not sure if he is unhappy with me or something but he has opposed this surgery of mine.

I have 2 aunties and 1 uncle on my Dad's side that have jaw deformities but they have chosen to live with it. My sister's 2 year old son, is showing signs of an underbite. She is concerned and is willing to try preventive measures to stop his jaws from growing out of alignment after seeing all the trouble it took me to fix mine in adulthood.

This seems to run in my Dad's family and I am not sure what to think of it. Is it a curse or a blessing?

Dealing and respecting cultural parameters is definitely a fine line. I think every case is different. I think life is a journey - a process - and all may change their minds some time.

For us, our son is adopted so I have no idea how he came about having this facial/mouth structure. When he was born his fontanelle (soft spot) was so big that the top of his head had no bones. It took a very long time to close - maybe until he was around 3 years old. As a result, he has a "bossy forehead" which means that instead of his forehead being flat it is rounded. He prefers his hair long so it covers it for the most part.

We went through a cranio-facial clinic when he was small. There was not much they could do for him at that time.

He started orthodontia around 8 years old. This included neck gear that was worn at night and anytime he was not out in public. We were very compliant and there did seem to be some change. This lasted 2 years.

He had braces off and went to a retainer until age 11 1/2. At that point, we went to a different orthodontist and we began phase 2 - braces on top and bottom plus a neck gear for nighttime.

We began to see that Josh was becoming very gummy. The change was not a desirable look. Again, I am a parent with a backbone and he was perfectly compliant. Things were not progressing and actually some of the brackets started loosening. Our ortho blamed him for being non-compliant and kicked us out of his practice.

Within 30 minutes at a new ortho, she gathered my husband and I together and said, "Do you see the angle of his jaw bone?" (looking at xrays). She drew a diagram and showed us how he could wear neckgear for the rest of his life and there would be NO change. The only change was the gumminess.

Here we sat through 10 months of treatment, being basically bullied by the previous ortho only to find out that the treatment plan was inappropriate in the first place.

From there, we went to our regular doctor who referred us to the cranio facial clinic. We were seen by more than 30 providers and in the end of it all, it was agreed that orthognatic surgery was the ONLY choice to correct this bite problem.

Next a sleep study was ordered that revealed that Josh woke up more than 10 times in one hour with sleep apnea. He was having epileptic seizures. We knew that the kid would not eat anything that required chewing because he could not eat with his mouth closed. This was a HUGE social problem in middle school and he refused to eat lunch there.

In the end, it was the right decision for him - even at only 13 years old. His upper jaw was pushed back 4 mm and his chin forward 3 1/2 mm.

It is very likely that he will need this surgery again when he is older and it will likely involved the lower jaw. For now, it was worth it for his current quality of life. He is already sleeping more soundly!!!!

All the best to your family!

Josh's Mom

#89 Post by **aliciaj212** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:46 am

I got my stitches removed yesterday, and it was rather painful. I read how some people thought that they tickled or didn't feel anything at all, but I could definitely feel the strings coming out of my gums and some pinching at times, too.

With that over, I was told that I still have another 21 days of this bite splint (20 now, but really, who's counting), and I left the hospital feeling disheartened. But I suppose the only thing you can do in this situation is to keep on trucking. I discovered this morning that nothing is in vain, and I can now stick two fingers when I open my mouth. Hurrah!

I hope everyone is doing well in their respective stages. My new favorite food is mashed potatoes now. Still trying to hunt down some sweet potatoes so I can make a sweet potato mash, like a blended version of a sweet potato pie.

#90 Post by **James0099** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 5:52 pm

Audra wrote:I had a blended cheeseburger. It was the best thing EVER!. Just mix in a lot of beef broth.

I also ate chicken pie, chili, Indian food (butter chicken with rice).

I have a facebook friend who's husband made "real meals' and blended everything for her - pizza, pasta, everything really.

If Josh wants a cheeseburger - please blend one for him. It will look gross, but he will think it's heavenly. Trust me.

I was wired shut for 5 weeks and I could not blend up real food, I just felt like it wasn't going to be the same and was too grossed out to do it. I just stuck with soup for dinner.

Tell you, the soft food diet is WAY easier than the liquid diet. I just started the soft food on Tuesday, life has been much better.

Luckily Josh gets to be able to have soft food after a week, sounds like hes doing great.