Metal Mouth Message Board

I wanted to start this thread for people to post the links they visit of have visited helping them in getting information for orthognathic Surgery.

I thought it would be good to share peoples personal experience on the matter so i wont feel like the only person in the entire world going through the operation and recovery alone.

I know when the time comes for my surgery, I will be taking plenty of snaps and logging all the details for all to see and for my personal reflections.

here is a particular gem of a link i found by typing in 'underbite' in google images page

http://www.allenhah.com/aj/ <----

keep them coming guys, it would be good to have a whole lot of quality links to select from and attain information and tips.

Great idea Nahky! The web page you suggested is excellent.

I'm debating whether to go for jaw surgery to correct my 11mm overjet. I've been in braces for 10 weeks and after discussing things with my ortho I originally opted for the 'compromise' treatment, i.e. making the best of my overjet with braces only and without surgery. However, as is a woman's prerogative I'm seriously reconsidering whether I should go for surgery after all I'm concerned about recovery time and nerve damage. Also, my ortho said there is a possibility I could be left with permanent jaw pain Does anyone knows of a web page with this kind of info (not just before and after pics)?

A good suggestion Nahky. The more informed we are, the better.

I found these two websites especially helpful when i was making my decision on my surgery.

http://www.oc-j.com/

http://www.geocities.com/gumbylives_99/

Malikara
It is not an easy decision to make. Apart from the expense, there is the lengthy recovery period so the more information we can get on the procedures, the better. I would rather go in fully informed of all of the benefits and risks of the procedure.

Chrisk

Here are some sites that I've found in my infinite search for orthognathic surgery info:

1. Surgeon's Site with Before/After Case Studies: http://www.massoralsurgeons.com/pro/pro_ort.html

2. SARPE Case Study: http://www.srt-psc.com/10case98.html

3. Orthognathic Surgery Info & Support Site: http://www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo/

4. Another Surgeon's Site: http://www.erlanger.org/craniofacial/bo ... thog_1.htm

5. Helpful Site with photos, message board & info: http://ortho_club.tripod.com/index.html

6. Surgeon's Site (lots of before/after pics): http://www.drposnick.com/orthognathic/index.html

7. Here is my surgeon's ortho surgery page. You'll find an informative video presentation on this site. Very cool, but of course I'm a little biased! http://www.kingswayos.com/procedures/orthog.html

The best site I've found is the yahoo group for ortho surgery. There are thousands of postings in the archive from which to search and hundreds of photos in the gallery so it's a great place to find answers to your questions. Here's the link:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/or ... rysupport/

Wow lioninthelake! You've certainly been doing your homework, haven't you? Thanks for posting all those surgery info sites, I'm sure they'll be a great help to a lot of people, myself included. Thanks again, good work!

Hey, no problem! I always research things to death before making a decision so I'm happy to share what I've found. Good luck to everyone on their surgeries!

Update on my case - I have another appointment on May 5th with my surgeon (this will be the fourth) and I've been assured that I'll finally have a surgery date at this appointment. I'm a major planner-type person and I need to organize my life around this surgery (2 kids & part-time uni!).

I'll post an update after the appointment.

Laura

Yes, that Yahoo Group site is quite amazing and extensive!

found this site that seems quite extensive in giving information about preparing you before some serious surgery

http://www.jawaugmentation.com/prepare_surgery.htm

The host site seems quite informative as well.

Reading all this stuff!! its getting me excited!! I cant help but use exclaimation marks!! 10 more months!!!!!!! Then i will get what i always need and wanted!

nahky wrote:
http://www.allenhah.com/aj/ <----

By the way. Note that in the post-op pictures, especially the last ones, this guy has pretty noticeable "red dots" on his skin, near both jaws. I have no idea why he didn't address that. But these red dots weren't there in the pre-op photos.

I thought all incisions were supposed to be intraoral, and nothing visible was supposed to be on the outside? guess not.

But anyway: Here's my contribution to this thread --
http://www.abc.net.au/health/yourstories/ys_face.htm

A guy explains his ordeal, journey, and photos.

gene wrote:

nahky wrote:
http://www.allenhah.com/aj/ <----

By the way. Note that in the post-op pictures, especially the last ones, this guy has pretty noticeable "red dots" on his skin, near both jaws. I have no idea why he didn't address that. But these red dots weren't there in the pre-op photos.

I've looked and looked. Not sure what red dots you are refering to in the images of AJ. Maybe it was a shaving rash or a pimples.

Im pretty sure all the surgery is done intra-orally. My surgeon emphasized that point

Check this out. Note the red dot on the neck.



I actually emailed this guy and asked him about it. His response was "Wow, amazing attention to detail, Gene!" But I was right.

He explained that yes, even though mostly it was intraoral, there were still 2 places where they had to put screws (or take screws out, not sure). It's not all that visible now but it's still there, on both sides. Remember, this guy had both of his jaws moved, which means that it couldn't be entirely intraoral.

BTW, you may be interested to know that even though he is extremely satisfied with the surgery (and the pictures prove it was a success), he still has a 5% numbness on the roof of his mouth 1.25 years after the surgery. That was in his email too.

Hi Gene,

I just had surgery this past Tuesday, and had both of my jaws moved, as well as a genioplasty. I didn't have any outside incisions done. I wonder if maybe it was due to the location of the part of his lower jaw he had broken? He mentioned that his jaw was broken in 6 places, so maybe he had to have 2 breaks on each side of his lower jaw, and that is the reason for the outside incisions?

From the research I did before surgery, most surgeries don't leave any marks on the outside. The few that do are usually extreme cases, or situations where the doctors need access to the TMJ joints, which is very rare in routine jaw surgery.

You are very observant, because I had found his website before, but I hadn't noticed the red marks on his neck.

Take care,
peanut

WOW! Its been 10 months since i started this post, back when i was starting out my journey to get jaw surgery, time flies!! (well, to a certain extent)

Have found another great link others could have a squizz at, good detail and lots of pictures from this bloke

http://www.thefark.com/surgery/

He has a very humourous way of looking at things, which i reckon is awesome to ahve such an attitude when it looks like tough times ahead.

Hi all,

I just wanted to say that after seeing my surgeon (4 weeks post-op) that he did mention in about 4 more weeks he would checking to see if they needed to take the screws out of my lower-jaw. Not everyone needs to, but for some the screws get loose (ha ha, a screw loose) & they need to take them out becausethey can irritate you and cause swelling. It's better for strength sake if they can stay in but in the cases where they need to take them out they make two small cuts. It's very minor & doesn't take long at all. They put you under local anestectic (sorry bad spelling) & you're bsack home in no time. Trust me, after everything else - this seems like a cake walk! Still, I wish I had known this before.

I feel like I'm preaching one of those ads from the eighties on Saturday morning cartoons - The More You Know...

Nahky, I'm curious where in Australia you live? The company my husband works for is setting up an office in Sydney & there's a chance we may move there for a 6 month period nearing the end of the year. I'm wondering what life is like there. Are there areas of Sydney that are a must to see. I realize it's a big city but having never been out of North America it would be cool to know a few things about the city & culture. Our friends (One of Marc's co-workers) is actually leaving to set things up in just a few weeks. If you have any words of wisdom, just PM me.

Kimberley

Regarding the guy with the red dots on his neck - I have those, too. I just had my surgery 8 weeks ago, and while the majority of the work was done inside the mouth, the final screws could not be inserted due to the small size of my mouth, and the angles required for final setting. So the OS had to make tiny incisions on each side, in which a small needle was inserted to set the screws. I had stitches for a week, and then they were removed. Most people don't notice the tiny scars, but if you look for them, they're there. The surgeon had explained beforehand that it was a possibility, so I was not unprepared for it.