Andantae's Surgical Adventure---ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!

[Andantae]

Hi guys!!!! I made it! Well, in a way I don't know what to say. For everyone who has had a hard time with their surgeries, I feel bad writing this, but for everyone who is having their surgery in the near future----I want to tell you that, I FEEL ABSOLUTLEY FINE NO PAIN WHATSOEVER! I did not use the morphine, nor am I using my vicotin, My OS said I might hit the wall on Saturday as all the really good meds will be out of my system; but we shall see ( he could be mean emotionally). He also remarked on how little swelling I had and how smooth the surgery went.

They moved my lower jaw forward 7 mm's and removed the chin implant, and did not do the genioplasty. I have two guiding triangle bands and can eat anything I don't have to chew. I drink out of a cup just fine even though my lower lip/chin is numb---due to removal of chin implant--he said to expect that to happen. I also am speaking perfectly normal, but my swelling has yet to peak, so we'll see if it remains!

He said both breaks were really clean, the srews went in perfectly, the implant came out just fine. They sprung me earlier this morning instead of this evening. We stopped at Starbucks and I just got back from a .5 walk to the mailbox. I just can't believe how normal I feel! I feel lucky but I am by no means in the minority of things going well surgically and hope this helps those with upcoming surgery dates .

I did have a strange thing happen in pre-op. The nurse there gave me a shot of steriod in my IV line and within seconds I bolted upright knowing I was going to be sick. It was amost instantaneous. The nurse said she had heard of that but I never seen it happen. Weird! After I regrouped she added it slowly and I was fine.

I took some before picture and am taking after pictures to post here, but I will wait a few days until I hit my peak selling and when I can see my jawline afterward.

Thank you all so much for all your support! The knowledge I picked up here on AW has made this process so much easier!

Andi





SO! The Clock's ticking now .....!

I met with the assisting surgeon this morning to get my splint fitted and briefly review the plan for tomorrow. I was able to see my molds mounted on the articulator so I got to have a sneak peak at the anticipated result.....OOoooo; AAHhhhh

Thank you all, dear cyber buddies, for all your kind words of support and I will get back to you, 'from the other side'!!!

Andi

Arvinsis & Meryaten~ Nope, no eggnog around here, but if drinking an ale & ice-cream float will get me an Honorary Membership into the exclusive and coveted December Scalpes Club, I'm there! I LOVE ales, BTW: it's the only beer I drink, so this is not a hardship....


Hello Everyone!

I thought I would start a thread to keep track of and share my BSSO & possible genioplasty scheduled for June 4.

So far my brace story is pretty typical. However! It occured after I met with my OS this Spring that I have a bit of a unique situation which may pique your interest, but more on that later(I need to build suspense first to keep you reading:)...

I am 47 and this is my 2nd time in braces. My rethrognathic lower jaw was never addressed with my initial set of braces, so I had a very comprosmised result after my first go-around. My teeth looked nice for a while, but due to my teeth being forced so far out of position on the arches to create a better bite, my retainer gradually became tighter and tighter and that, coupled with my wisdom teeth coming in, quickly made it impossible for me to wear it at all. So things slowly replapsed over the years.

The result has been some minor chipping, vertical hairline cracks in some of my teeth, intruded molars and extruded lower incisors- 2 molars which are completely out of occlusion- and, worst of all, a bite which is almost exactly 1 tooth off from the upper jaw resulting in the overextruded lower incisors cutting into my upper palate.

Here are some photo's of my starting point a year ago....



You can see I have a 100% overbite ( I don't have a cant to my jaw; it's the angle of the photograph). Also of note are the 2nd molars on both right arches. The upper 2nd molar is pushed up into my buccal tissue making it almost impossible to brush, and the corresponding lower moalr is completely on its side----and I didn't think I needed braces again!

In addition, shortly after being braced and committing to BSSO surgery, I read Brandyleigh's blog's and some of the other links she had posted and I became aware of the relationship of rethognathic jaws and sleep obstruction (she knows she's my apnea heroine and deserves all the credit). My husband has been after me for years to have a sleep study done, but I always pooh-poohed it as I really don't fit the typical profile. Well, this inspired me to follow through with it, and sure enough, I too have apena---it all seems so obvious now!

I will be getting new photo done at my pre-surgical records appointment on May 15 and will post my current photos of my progress. In the meantime, I will limit the length of this post and continue my saga in the next few days when I can get some good head shots to demonstrate that 'unique situation' I mentioned earlier......the saga continues and the mystery deepens....

[Arvensis]

Yay Andantae!! I'm so excited for you, IJune 4 is sooooooon!!!

Excellent use of smiley-faces between photos. I'm laughing at your husband getting onto you about sleep apnea, I'm quite positive I dodged a pre-surgery bullet there only because my hubby is such a sound sleeper;)

[iBorg]

Andantae:
I won't be with you as a June date (DA######), but I will be cheering you on in spirit. Hope you'll keep us informed on your progress.

Us second timers have to stick together!

Mike

[Delag]

Great idea starting a thread now! It really is astounding how much you tend to forget things when they are over and done - now you will have a great record. One month ...it will both fly by and crawl by. Try not to leave things till the last minute or that last week really will fly by too fast

[tazzle]

ok ok you got us hanging in there now

well as you said its not the 100% over / deep bite thats unique . well I know that as mine is 100% plus ........ so come on then

dont keep us in suspenders tooo long

[Andantae]

Thanks guys!

Meryaten~ Not only did I think I didn't needed braces, when my poor ortho suggested BSSO surgery, I secretly suspected him of just wanting to drum up business for the Oral/Max surgeons who just happen to have a practice in the same medical building. You know-golf-buddy-back-scratching sort of thing. I can be so jaded sometimes! Surgery? Surgery! Why do I need surgery?---I just came in to get a retainer to straighten out my teeth!

Arvensis~

I'm laughing at your husband getting onto you about sleep apnea, I'm quite positive I dodged a pre-surgery bullet there only because my hubby is such a sound sleeper;)

Yes! But you know what's worse, Arvensis? He then experienced firsthand the epitome of the cliche',..... 'Be Careful What You Wish For'

::::Enter::: DARTH-LEEN, the name I have given my cpap machine.

Other than being clear plastic instead of black, she and Darth Vader could be first cousins and perhaps are--the resemblance goes well beyond the visual...

The Answer to His Wish?: Me, sporting my favorite Nick & Nora pink and white striped pajamas with the big fruit slices all over- DH loves these---(dripping sarcasm) wearing one of my 2 favorite (more dripping sarcasm) cpap attachements, either 1) The Elephant Trunk Style or 2) The Oxygen Mask Style

Now add the audio of the cpap unit itself which sounds just like D-Vader breathing, And! when I wear The Oxygen Mask attachment, everytime I roll over and face my DH, he gets a steady stream of exhaled air which gently blows in his face and carries enough psi to lightly ruffle up his hair.

iborg~ Thank you! Yes, we second timers must stick together and I feel it down to my toes that your surgery will still be in July.

Delag~ I have gotten most of my stuff already, but I was going to ask you where you get your supplements? Are there certain brands you recommend?

tazzle~ OK, I'll come clean now; it's not all that interesting....

23 years ago, I got a chin implant. Like so many others here, I HATED my profile, and when a friend asked for my support to help her through her much needed breast reduction surgery, her nice, friendly plastic surgeon asked me if I'd ever thought about it. I've always been really glad I did it, but I always feel a bit embarassed about it too, as it seems so vain. I think it is just carry over from having it done so long ago when there was still stigma attached to cosmetic surgery and you only heard whispers of friends' of Mother's maybe having 'something' done.

Anyway, as my face has slimmed down over the years, it doesn't look as good and sticks out a bit too much. The plan is to take it out during surgery as it likely won't be necessary after BSSO anyway, but my surgeons can't get a clear idea of my chin in xrays, hence they won't be able to determine whether I will need the genioplasty until they remove it in the OR. My surgeon did say that I will have a less "button" type chin to a smoother jawline and subtle chin. That would be a nice. No point in lamenting, but SO MUCH would have been addressed if I would have known about jaw surgery years ago, but I'm still so glad I can do it now! I'll put up some photos so you can see.

[Delag]

Thanks guys!

No point in lamenting, but SO MUCH would have been addressed if I would have known about jaw surgery years ago, but I'm still so glad I can do it now!

I had a lot of issues with my parents for a total neglect of my (and my siblings) dental health. I thought that if they had sent me to the ortho when I was young I would not be here today....and that is true. On the other hand, dental medicine has come such a far way since then, that I am sure I will have a better end result now than if I had been treated when I was young. I am sure I will appreciate it more.

[fromjersey]

I just tried to post longer message and it wouldn't go. It said "phpBB CRITICAL ERROR--could not connect to data base."
Now what? Should I re-type entire message?
Helen

[Arvensis]

::::Enter::: DARTH-LEEN, the name I have given my cpap machine.

Other than being clear plastic instead of black, she and Darth Vader could be first cousins and perhaps are--the resemblance goes well beyond the visual...

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Serves him right!! He better appreciate the after!!:)

GOD that kills me though. Sigh. Poor you. Forget husband, that's what couches were invented for

[kaycee]

Well Andantae - Now we know the rest of the story!

I've been wondering why your surgeon wouldn't know if you needed a genio until you were in surgery. My OS has explained how the angle of the chin should be within a certain angle, etc., etc. and I've been thinking why couldn't your surgeon take those same measurements from x-rays? So now I know.

BTW, wasn't your consult today?

kaycee

[Rach]

Ah well Andantae, will be following your story with interest, less than a month now! And the days will fly by!
Thats also quite interesting about the genio, be nice to see photos so we can see what you mean, so they will do a genio along with the BSSO if they see fit at the time, or will it be a seperate op?

[Andantae]

Delag~ Sage words of wisdom as usual! You are exactly right on every point---especially that we do appreciate it more now.

Arvensis~ Actually, I had to give up on Darth-leen a while back as I swallow the air in my sleep! It just made my already poor sleep even worse which is actually why my DH was after me in the first place more than the snoring. He has heard me stop breathing many times while I'm asleep and I am frequently 'foggy' during the day from lack of sleep---but I couldn't resist telling a funny story, as it's true!

fromjersey~ That happened to me, too. I think it was AW's server? It worked when I tried again later.

kaycee~ No, my consult is tomorrow. I'll let you know what he says about filling prescriptions in advance--thanks again for mentioning that.

rach~ Thanks for your support! Yes, I'll get some photos up in the next week or so. I want to see if I can get some quality photos from my ortho at my pre-surgical appointment next week. I cannot get the hang of taking photos of myself. They always come out like a reflection of looking into a Christmas tree bulb, if you know what I mean! ....or maybe I actually do look like that and am in denial.......

[nullalux]

Good to hear others are in the same boat. I'm getting more and more nervous as surgery approaches. Best of luck on yours!

[Andantae]

Hi Guys!

Well today I am celebrating my 48th birthday! Got to take my rescued X-Race horse to a mini jumping clinic---he did great and loves his new job/life and that is the best birthday gift I could wish for !

I have been meaning to update my post after meeting the 3rd time with my OS and my records appointment with my ortho, but this has been the busiest Spring I can remember! But that is good as it keeps my mind off things....

First, progress photos of where my teeth are at 1 year in braces:





...And, as promised, here is a photo of my profile so you can see how much the chin implant sticks out. I swear it's gotten worse as my bite has become so exaggerated. I never had much of an upper lip and as I have aged it has gotten thinner and now it all but disappears when I try to close my mouth .


I'll take some pre and post surgery photos on my own camera so we can see the before and after. For some reason everytime I enlarge photos from my ortho on photobucket they shrink back to original size when I post them here. Wow, when I look at the photo I'm really not liking my chin and haven't liked it for a while, so it's a bonus to be doing this surgery for my bite and getting a 'real' chin in the bargain!

Highpoint of OS appointment:

He doubts we will need to do the genioplasty. They will be conservative and only do it if I really need to have the balance in my chin. He still wanted to see my molds before he gives me an exact advancement number, but it's bewteen 5-7 mm's probably 5-6. Right now I feel like I could park a small car in the space between my front and upper and lower teeth.

My ROM is only 40. Average is 40-50 mm and he said I could loose just a little of that. I now have physical evidence for my husband that I do NOT, in fact, have a big mouth .

AND! Best of all, I will receive the ever popular Dump by the Pump of Morphine at bedside! AND! no catheter !


Highpoint of records appointment:

The most interesting part of this to me is that my bite/teeth are not perfect, nor was that in the plan to have it so at this point. I wonder if that is his usual MO or if it depends on the individual. I've read many times here that the OS/Ortho likes to have the bite as perfect as possible before surgery, but my ortho says that they don't have to be perfect just yet as he needs my jaws to be aligned first before he continues with the rest of my treatment. I wonder if it's because I need a fair amount of extrusion yet---especially with my molars. I suppose there isn't much point in extruding them to fit together with the wrong teeth of the opposite arch... I should have asked that...

On Wednesday we leave for Charleston SC and back on June 1st. Monday I plan to go Weird Food Shopping & errands. Tuesday the 3rd I get my splint made at the OS's office and my surgical hooks put on at my Ortho's as well. Surgery is on Wednesday the 4th at 1:00 registration at 11:00 am. I'm their first patient of the day as they only do afternoon surgeries on Wednesdays.

Well that's the plan. I'll post again next week.....

[iBorg]

So the countdown has begun! What is s amazing is how many AW folks seem to be on the same page. I'm expecting the recommendation for a cpap on Friday.

Looking at you jaw line, I swear its my jaw, although my hair does look different.

Sounds like a great way to celebrate number 48 wit you and your horse!

Enjoy the other Charleston.

Mike