1 Week Post-Op!

Message

#1 Post by **TheUnk311** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:27 am

Well, 8 days now but the pics were from yesterday. I had surgery on my lower jaw to move it back 7mm. It has been very helpful to read other peoples experiences and see pictures here over the last few months so I thought I would return the favor so to speak.

After being braced for 20 months I was finally given a date last month. I was pretty nervous when the day finally came, the worst part was probably the waiting. Check in, wait. Go to prep, wait. Wake up in recovery, puke some blood here and there, wait some more. I think it took them 4 hours to get me from recovery to my room/bed. I don't remember a whole lot in recovery except the puking, could barely keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds.

Once I got into my room though it was pretty easy going, just boring. I didn't have much to do and don't think I could have done much anyways as the pain killers made me very drowsy. Trying to communicate with the nurses was frustrating so I had them bring me some pen/paper. Overall the experience at the hospital was pretty good, except the waiting =p

I had a lot of swelling in my cheeks and lower lip. The lower lip being the most uncomfortable of it all. As far as pain goes it was very minimal and for the most part just an ache I would feel, I never went too long without taking something.. I pretty much stopped taking anything at all 4 days post-op, jaw would ache very slightly but not enough to bother me. The most painful part of the whole deal was probably them removing the IV, still have a large bruise there.. Swelling has gone down a lot already, still have some in my lower lip and a little in my cheeks but I don't think anyone that doesn't know me well would notice.

I had some bruising that appeared on my neck a few days after, light yellow but not much at all, it's almost gone now.

Most of my chin and lower lip is numb. Apparently my nerve was not in the usual place and the surgeon had to "dig" it out... Said it was higher than most peoples but because of that he was able to put a screw in a better/stronger spot that they usually can't because the nerve is there. I do have feeling in about half of my lip, it's hard to explain but it's a different type of feeling, everything that touches it feels kind of cold even when it's not.. Doc said it's a good sign that I have any feeling at all this soon considering all the "digging" he had to do. At the hospital he said it would likely take a few months before I start getting feeling back so it seems I'm doing better than expected so far. Fingers crossed.

I had a splint in for 1 week. This thing was horrible I could barely say anything, food would get stuck behind it and inside it, it also made it very hard to keep my lips closed even with my big fat lip. Worst of all I could not see how my new bite looked! lol. When they took it out it was soo gross, suddenly I had a left-over meal in my mouth. Wow did it feel good to brush when I got home though! I was kindof surprised that he didn't give me any bands or anything, in a good way of course =p I can talk fairly well now, some words are awkward though, probably because of the new bite and numb lip.

My bite looks a lot better but it doesn't feel very good right now. Unless I slide my jaw slightly to the left, I only have contact on a couple teeth near the front, it's not very comfortable. I'm seeing my ortho tomorrow, hopefully he'll be able to do something to start fixing this instead of waiting until my next appt - Surgeon said that he probably won't do anything, just wants to see how the surgery went.

Finally, here's some pics of my mug for those who dare look =p

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa51 ... ll-all.jpg

#2 Post by **kate0310** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:39 am

WOW! your results look amazing! truly, it looks fabulous.
Sounds like hospital time wasn't so bad, and your doing really well.
You don't even look very swollen!

Im a bit jealous of you getting your feeling back so soon! Im 6 weeks post op and my bottom lip is 100% numb still- that should make you feel good!~

Good Luck @ your Ortho. Im sure they will be thrilled.

#3 Post by **4beauty4symmetry** » Wed May 23, 2007 9:44 am

Man, you look seriously fabulous.

How long were you in the hospital?

Good luck--does having the surgery make the braces easier to bear? I'm hoping it will for me.

Again, congratulations.

#4 Post by **joao** » Wed May 23, 2007 11:24 am

TheUnk311.. man you look really great!

I also have an underbite and i will have surgery next year, and i'm really glad seeing such improvement in your case.. just hope to have same luck as you

#5 Post by **TheUnk311** » Thu May 24, 2007 9:28 am

Thanks all.

4beauty4symmetry - I was only in the hospital one night, 9am to 4pm the next day. The braces don't feel a whole lot different after the surgery, because of the initial swelling they did bother me a bit more at first though.

Swelling around my neck has almost gone completely now, still have some on my left cheek though but hardly noticeable. Ortho put some bands on today, never had them before now, they suck =p

#6 Post by **anabel** » Fri May 25, 2007 10:48 am

Wow, you look great!! Look at that midline! I bet you won't have much longer in braces at all.

#7 Post by **TheUnk311** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 8:10 am

Yesterday my OS cleared me for chewing, nothing like steaks for another week but sandwiches and chicken and such are fine. Wow it is strange to chew again with this new bite.. I've already bitten my lower lip several times

Guess I'm so acustomed to having my lower jaw out there further and no "front-tooth biting ability".. But boy is it good to get some solid food in me.

Today my Ortho told me 3-4mo left to go in braces

The original plan was 6-9mo in braces after surgery! So I'm thrilled!

They pulled out my photos they had taken before starting this whole journey.. Wow you don't realize how much things have changed until you see those again.

I *think* that one of my stitches came apart the other day, it's been over 5 weeks and they all still look pretty solid in there.. They are even more annoying now that I can chew stuff, foods gets pushed down there and trying to get it out with my tongue isn't all that great feeling, it's even a tiny bit painful. I almost decided to snip a few to try and hurry things along but decided against it.

I can open my mouth better now, so much so that my OS didn't even bother measuring it. Unfortunately I now have 4 elastics, 2 in the back in a box around my molars, gonna take some practice getting those off and on. Can't open my mouth as much either with em. Not too bad I suppose.

Talking is still tiresome, I have a very hard time with some words, mainly those with S's in them. Sometimes I do ok and other times I just can't get the sounds to come out right, strange. Must be my muscles/tongue trying to go back to their old positioning.

My numbness has improved, I get a little sensation when touching most of my chin, it's very slight though. Starting to get more inside my lower lip, can feel my teeth a bit. Also started feeling the bristles on my toothbrush the other day and had a little pain in a few teeth from the elastics. A welcome the pain though as it's a good sign that my gums are getting more feeling!

I still get a little swelling in my lower lip each morning when I wake up. This has caused some mean canker sores on my lower lip from the hooks on my brackets. I didn't feel the irritation until a couple canker sores had already formed, I only get some dull pain from them when brushing but am keeping those brackets waxed up to prevent any further irritation.

Overall this has to have been my best week since the surgery!

#8 Post by **sillikitti** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:38 pm

Wow ThUnk311, you look great after just 1 week! I'm so jealous haha. I'm 1 week post op today as well with some swelling still. Too bad for the rough start in the hospital..that should mean the rest should be smooth sailing..and chewing!

#9 Post by **monarch64** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:40 am

You look awesome! Seriously, you were a good looking guy before, but now post-op you look even better!