Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all,

I've got two things i wish to clarify, firstly, i know most people are wired shut and their nose is usually blocked/clogged post surgery (especially the first few days) so what was breathing like? i can imagine real difficulties with both our mouth and nose sealed off? Can you still get a sufficient amount of air? I'm worried about this.

And secondly, i've looked through youtube for some before/after videos, i found some of them amazing. However i came across one individual that seemed to have experienced a lot of swelling (?) and was just wondering if he's one of the more unlucky ones? or is this what i should expect? (Warning: might be a bit graphic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0KTqyBc ... re=related

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Youch! That poor guy, as you put it, is one of the unlucky ones. That is an unusual amount of swelling! I wouldn't worry too much about the amount of swelling. When going into this surgery, especially double jaw, you just have to wrap your head around the idea that you won't look too hot for awhile. Hopefully, you can adjust your schedule so that you don't have to make too many public appearances for the first couple of weeks.

About the breathing--I worried a lot about this pre-op. The reality of it wasn't as horrific as I had imagined. It was just part of the "miserableness" of the first 5-6 days or so. I was tightly banded shut for one full week, then switched to fully banded, but with elastics that had a little give. A few things really helped me: steamy showers, humidifier, saline nasal spray, and tucking in a moistened cloth into my jawbra to cover my mouth. This kept my mouth from being "Sahara" dry. If you have upper jaw surgery, just go into it expecting to breathe through your mouth for several days. I never felt, however, like I couldn't get enough air, which was what I was most worried about.

Good luck with your surgery!

I'm tightly wired shut, day two post op with an IVRO. Its amazing how you can find air. I have a full mouth splint wired in there too. Fortunately for me, my allergist loaded me up with two nasal steroids to keep my nose clear and I have two cool must humidifiers in my room. In the hospital, they had me breathing through a humidifier mask.

When your airway feels clogged, I just shut my eyes and concentrate on breathing. You'll have claustrophobic feelings, but, they pass quickly if you stay calm. Hope this helps