Orthognatic Surgery and Sinus Issues

[iBorg]

Here's a quick question for those pot op people out there. Did surgery either help, hurt or did neither sinus problems? I often have sinus headaches (left side, same as my TMJ side) and am curious what effect if any surgery had on this.

Mike

[iBorg]

I'd say my headaches are about fifty/fifty sinus and TMJ. I'm allergic to a host of things and have been treated for allergies and asthma for about seven years. I also have TMJ issues.

Unless there's a significant number of people who have had the surgery that have ended with worst sinus problems, its a non issue. I'll still have the surgery in about a year and a half. If there's a significant number of people that have had an improvement, I'll be even more anxious (in a positive way) to have the surgery.

Mike

[Delag]

Mike - My OS told me that when a Lefort is done they usually take a peek up there and can take care of any problems they may see (deviated septum etc.). I know that with SARPE many people experience an improvement in their breathing. Is this true with any Lefort movement? No clue.

[iBorg]

Miserable but livable. When I think of how blessed I am to live in a land and time where these problems can be dealt with I feel truly blessed. I also am glad my job has insurance that makes these procedures (excluding the metal in my mouth) affordable and I feel blessed again. When I deal with the running of my sinuses on a day like today, I wonder if surgery can help. I hope it can. If it can, its another reason why I should do this "elective" procedure.


Mike

[anabel]

Really hard to tell in my case. Right after my surgery my sinuses were better than they had been in a long time. Then they got significantly worse but hopefully it's just because I'm pregnant. But I have been told I need to have my turbinates roto-rootered and that I have a slight deviated septum that could be fixed. I'll see how it goes in October when my allergies usually kick in and start that whole cascade of sinus drama which I'm sure you're familiar with.

[iheartmypanda]

It's common practice for an oral surgeon to clean out the nose and fix what he sees while he is up there for upper jaw surgery.
Right after the procedure and for a week or two after you won't be able to breathe through your nose at all (it sucks!) because of all the work done up there. There will be lots of blood and lots and lots of mucus.

After that though (I'm 5 weeks post op) you'll notic that you can breathe through your nose better than ever before!

I can breathe so much easier now. (I have allergies and sinus issues too)
My nose hasn't gotten clogged at all lately and while it's still a little swollen and hurts a little if I touch it.... all of that will dissolve with time and it's definetly a little extra "bonus" for having the surgery in my book.

My advice for you would be to simply bring the subject up with your OS. He/she can make a note in your file to make sure to checl out the nose during surgery or maybe even bring a specialist in who can fix up your nose (he probably knows how to though).
I mentioned to the resident doing my checkup that I was worried about how my nose would look. He mentioned it to my OS I guess (or I think he wrote that concern in my file... they write every concern you have! They even wrote about my needle phobia and how I really didn't want to wake up with tubes) because after surgery my OS told me he knew I was worried about my nose (I have a hump) and that he moved the tip up a bit to balance my nose out.

No my hump is much much less prominent just from moving the tip up! It looks pretty good compared to before.
I have no clue how my OS did it but I'm very thankful. It's another "bonus" for me.

So all that goes to say that your OS is there to help you and this surgery is meant to increase your quality of life.
Talk to him and I'm sure he'll be able to figure something out so you don't have to be dealing with the nasty sinuses anymore! General Anesthetic is very dangerous and doctors are normally all for avoiding as many GA procedures as possible! The more you can get done at once the better!!

chin up! I'm sure you'll get what you want if you just ask.

hope that helped!

Mariana

[iBorg]

Mariana;
What a wonderful answer! While I haven't met with the OS yet, I'll see my ortho on Tuesday with my son. I'm really hoping she'll think I'm far enough along to have my first consult. At my last appointment my ortho looked at my profile for some time and said that it might be good to do both jaws. I figure the more I know, the better my decision process will be.

THANKS!
Mike

[Gem]

I am 6 weeks post op and I could not have picked a worst time of year to do the surgery. The pollen is very bad so I still have days where I get congested but Claritan helps. Right after surgery I had a lot of trouble but it was a matter of finding the right medicine and what was triggering the sinus issues. OS promises me that my breathing will be better and that my snoring will be better so I am patiently waiting to see all the bonuses. Yesterday was the first day I saw an improvement in my profile. As for your headaches, did you try trigger point injections, physical therapy and/or NSAIDS. I have major tmj issues and I would get at least 2 killer headaches every month. They were comparable to migraines and always on the side of my tmj problem. I did everything I mentioned plus a splint for sleeping and valium when the muscle was in spasm. It has been 2 years since I went searching for answers and I can honestly say that I have not had anymore of those killer headaches. Hope you find relief soon.

[Arvensis]

Mariana-

this is WONDERFUL to hear.This is my entire motivation for even going through with the surgery (to fix the nose)... as far as I'm concerned, the jaw is an added benefit! I can't wait to breath through my nose for the first time ever in my life!!

[Brandyleigh35]

I agree with Mariana. Now having had the benefit of both SARPE and Lefort 1 I can tell you I have noticed a serious difference. With SARPE I noticed more breathing improvement in my mouth i.e. the airways in the back of your throat, due to the increased area in there afterwards. I had a lot of problems with sinus infections after my SARPE, making it really hard to heal. At one point I was on antibiotics for 3 months straight for chronic reoccuring sinus infections. I started using nasal irrigation daily and they went away totally until I had my recent surgery.

This is one of the questions I asked my doctor about. He said when he got in there that my sinuses looked great, but I was still worried about getting sinus infections. So far, knock on wood, my sinuses have been better then ever. I can breathe better then I ever have before, and I have had no symptoms or signs of a sinus infection. I honestly didn't have a lot of issues with stuffy sinuses after my Lefort either. I did have drainage, but my sinuses seemed to take turns, and I was always able to breathe out of one or the other pretty easily, they never really plugged up both at the same time, and by about 1 week they were both pretty open and clean, and I just had the drainage down the back of my throat.

I used to have sinus infections constantly, over and over again. My ENT and other doctors think it was directly related to the fact that my airways were small. My doctor said that when I went to sleep at night my sinuses would drain and the fluids would build up in the back of my throat. Bacteria from the sinuses would incubate in the warm moist environment and would cause my sinus infections. Since surgery I no longer have any fluid buildup or drainage running down my throat. Things feel very open and honestly I have noticed nothing but benefits regarding breathing since my surgery, even with prevailing numbness and swelling still quite persistant inside my mouth.

I would say that it will probably have positive benefits for you!

Brandy