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11 Days Post-Op Update! (with pics)

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:02 pm
by Daveyboy
Hi Everyone!

Yippeee!! I managed to get through the surgery and the rough few days afterwards!

I'll try not to make this post too long, but thought it's worth posting how things went.
I went into hospital on Tuesday 11th in the morning having had the biggest meal I could manage on the monday evening :P The surgeon came in at about 3pm to say a quick hello before the op and to check if I had any last minute questions. He was joking about his surgery that morning in that the patients brackets all popped off when he went to put the elastics on.... and that he hoped mine were more firmly glued! I hoped so too!!!

I went into theatre at around 3:30 ish, and I think I came round sometime around 6pm. The next few hours were a bit of a blur really, but I remember getting taken back to my room at around 7:30, and snoozed for a long while. I managed to get to sleep probably around midnight, and actually slept much better than I thought!

The following morning my surgeon came in and spoke to me quickly and said he was very happy with how things went, and he encouraged me to go look in the mirror.... I couldn't believe how little swelling there was! This was short lived though as it got a fair bit worse by day 3 :(

The journey home from the hospital was long and pretty painful if i'm honest... I think the painkillers that I had were wearing off, and obviously I hadn't started taking the ones they gave me to take home.... so it was a loooong 1.5hours home!

Skip forward a couple of days..... I've gone from eating only the thinnest soups and milshakes, and am now eating thicker soups and blended foods.... oh and ice cream :lol:

The main "problem" i've got now is my muscles still feel pretty "tight" even after a week and a bit, and they definately feel like they're trying to pull back to their old position. I'm a bit concerned that they're putting strain on the bones whilst they're healing... is this what causes relapse?

The good news is that my linguals don't seem to be causing any problems.. which is what I was worried about. I can't get in to clean them 100% but I was worried that my tongue would be swollen and rub on them more than normal but I think my tongue is so tough now it didn't really matter!

The swelling is now a lot better, although I can definately see it more than others can.

I'm not sure how many mm advancement I had, and I can't yet take a good pic of my post-op bite but in the meantime here's a before/after pic of my profile:

Before(actually taken in the hospital!)
Image

After - Taken Yesterday - 10 days post op:
Image

I've decided i'm going to make a proper effort to put on weight as soon as I can eat properly as I actually think I look a lot better with a fuller face. I've always been slim, but I think the "before" photo has made me realise that I must have lost weight since having my braces put on.

I've got an appointment with my ortho in a week or so, so i'll know then how good my new bite is shaping up to be! Fingers crossed!

:D

Dave

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:20 pm
by ohmyjaw
Very nice indeed! :thumbsup:

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:20 pm
by dubnobass
Wow, looking good for 10 days post-op - I can't see any swelling or bruising at all! Have you got any numbness?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:25 am
by clairet707
looking good Dave :thumbsup:

How are you getting on with the zip n squeeze bags??

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:20 am
by ema27
Welcome back davey boy i was wondering where you had gone....
Your profile looks so better already-A subtle but noticeable difference!Hope your recovery is going smooth and that your pleased with the outcome..keep us all up dated all the best. :D

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:20 am
by loulou123
looking fantastic :lol: you must be so pleased? Even the swellings looking good (tho i appreciate it may look worse in real life)

sounds like your doing well too.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:57 am
by Rach
A great improvement there Davey! Your swelling doesn't look too bad either, the first time I looked in the mirror post-op I was at the peak of my swelling so it was a bit of a shock, lol. Its good your on blended food now as you can eat a lot more, I'm sure your bored of soup by now!
Good luck with the rest of you recovery! :D

Rach

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:20 pm
by Daveyboy
Hi Everyone,

I'm definately pleased with both my profile, and more importantly... my bite! Seeing my front teeth come together for the first time ever was a bit of a weird feeling!

I did have some nice bruising running all down my neck but this has subsided now, so it's just the swelling. I think the pics look much better than the reality at the moment!

For the first few days my lower lip, chin and jaw were all numb, but i'm starting to get feeling back in my lip and my chin is constantly "throbbing" so i'm confident that although it's uncomfortable... at least it's a good sign that the nerves are hopefully intact (although my surgeon already said that he believes they were fine).

I can't seem to start to sleep a bit flatter, and am still sitting up. As soon as I tilt my head, the throbbing sensations get pretty unbearable... but i'm sleeping ok anyway so this isn't really a massive problem.

Hi Claire! The ZipnSqueeze bags were a godsend - so thankyou so much! I'm not sure how I would have eaten properly without them! I'm now eating with a small spoon but am going to keep the 2 or 3 I have left, just in case!

I'll keep you all posted, but thanks for all the help!

Dave