Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello all,

Well just when i needed the site pre/post op it was down!

I'm now just over 3 wks post op after having BSSO and Le Fort on 9th Jan. Recovery has gone well really and I was up and about out of hospital after day 2. The worst part for me was the splint and it was gratefully removed on day 6!! I am banded with 7 bands to get the correct bite and slightly bring round the bottom jaw into alignment.

90% of the swelling has now gone - but the numbness is driving me mad - My chin, bottom lip, cheek on one side and half of my top lip are all still completely numb, sometimes occasional tingling - I know my surgeon had trouble breaking the top jaw on one side for the Le Fort hence numbness more one sided - I know it's still early day but can anyone fill me in on their experience of numbness please

xxx

The numbness is the worst. I know it sucks but just be patient, it does get better. You can read about my progress here if it helps, I have details posted in the 'Photos' section you can compare to. You're probably almost out of the worst part by now. I know what you mean, its not even pain, its just... lack of pain... like nothing. Its miserable. You'll get better soon and start feeling human again.

Not sure why that link didn't work above but here it is again: http://www.thisisjustwrong.com (where is that edit button when you need it? )

Thank you Karl - I know it's early days and as my surgeon keeps telling me! I'll read your blog

I think the numbness and swelling is what you hear most about from post op patients and if you read each of the threads here from folks you'll find that every one has a different experience so there's no way to tell how fast you are going to get better, only general terms. But on the bright side, it seems that most people within 6 months or less get full feeling back in their face over time. Some are better far quicker, while a few have very small patches of permanent numbness (those with genios seem to have a much greater risk for that but even then it seems to be a relatively small number of cases).

Personally, I am at week 11 post op and initially my face was completely numb in the lower lip and chin area and I THOUGHT the rest was fine. But now that I'm getting more feeling back I'm discovering that I was more numb than I ever thought I was all over my face and inside my mouth. The right half of my lower lip and chin are still pretty numb, but I continue to get the tingles there that signify that my nerves are trying! I never had sensitive teeth prior to surgery, but I definitely get shocks of nerves now as I think they are awakening (I didn't even think they were numb). It's very frustrating and my swelling seems to worsen as the tingles get more intense but then within a few days I'll have noticeable improvement in the feeling so it's also a very hopeful sign. I can see that the six month time table is probably a very accurate time frame for full feeling in my face, but again every one is different and yours make take a little longer or much less time!

there was a girl with a blog on here somewhere who tried accupunture for numbness and it worked really well. Might be worth a go.

There's also a guy who had acupuncture for numbness--me!

It did help the numbness from my LeForte I re-do, and almost instantaneously. A year and a half after the BSSO, I still have prickliness in my lower lip and chin, so I'm not holding my breath. It's all good.

Not all acupuncturists are created equal, however, in my opinion. I lucked out with a real master!

Be well, and at peace,

Phil