I have many questions. Nothing real important. I am sure these questions have been asked all the time.
How long did it take you to be able to eat normal food after surgery?
How long did it take you to be able to do everyday activities like hanging out with friends or going to the movies? (Mainly wondering because I have school coming up in two/three months)
How long did it take for the swelling to go down?
I was luckily enough not to have a lot of swelling and no bruising after surgery but, my joints in my jaw are in pain and whenever I do the sallowing motion, my teeth and jaw(including join area) hurts so I was just wondering if that is normal.
Any advice or before/after pics from upper jaw surgery would be very appreciated.
Just had Upper Jaw Surgery (About 4 days ago)....
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HopeandFaith
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:15 pm
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HopeandFaith
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:15 pm
I had upper and lower jaw surgery almost ten months ago. My experience with the upper jaw surgery was certainly more difficult than the lower, but this may have been because the upper was segmental (my upper jaw was split into three pieces).
The congestion is completely normal and is the main reason why upper jaw surgery is worse than the lower. Your maxillary sinuses will fill with blood and block almost all airflow and the post-operative swelling doesn't help either. I'd suggest taking long, hot showers and use some of those menthol tablets (I think they're called "Shower Soothers" by Vick's). You place them on the shower/tub floor and they react with the water to create a menthol vapor. Just don't step on them...the chemical reaction with water causes heat and they'll burn your foot. Because the hot shower will act as a vasodilator, you may experience some additional swelling afterwards, but it's worth it to moisturize all the clotted, crusty blood in your sinuses to the point where it will ooze out of your nose on its own or can be picked out with a Q-tip. I apologize for the unpleasantness of the previous sentence, but it's important that you resist blowing your nose at all costs! You don't want to force the bloody mucous from your sinuses into the area where your plates and incisions are. That's a quick path to infection.
Sleeping next to a humidifier is not a bad idea either.
I didn't eat soft foods for quite a while. I think it was around eight to ten weeks post-op. I had a splint wired to my upper jaw for six weeks and didn't bother with anything remotely viscous because it just got trapped up in there. After the splint was removed, I moved on to chunky/thicker soups, but I was timid when it came to tackling "substantial" food.
My swelling peaked at day three and slowly decreased after that, but I would say it wasn't until three weeks post-op when I started to look like myself again. I went out to movies and restaurants (I just watched my companions eat) around day ten. I made sure I had plenty of washcloths with me to soak up all the incessant drool. People probably assumed I'd just had a tooth pulled and no one seemed to care.
Pain in your joints isn't uncommon, but it is strange that you're experiencing joint pain when you swallow. Please talk to your surgeon about that.
The congestion is completely normal and is the main reason why upper jaw surgery is worse than the lower. Your maxillary sinuses will fill with blood and block almost all airflow and the post-operative swelling doesn't help either. I'd suggest taking long, hot showers and use some of those menthol tablets (I think they're called "Shower Soothers" by Vick's). You place them on the shower/tub floor and they react with the water to create a menthol vapor. Just don't step on them...the chemical reaction with water causes heat and they'll burn your foot. Because the hot shower will act as a vasodilator, you may experience some additional swelling afterwards, but it's worth it to moisturize all the clotted, crusty blood in your sinuses to the point where it will ooze out of your nose on its own or can be picked out with a Q-tip. I apologize for the unpleasantness of the previous sentence, but it's important that you resist blowing your nose at all costs! You don't want to force the bloody mucous from your sinuses into the area where your plates and incisions are. That's a quick path to infection.
Sleeping next to a humidifier is not a bad idea either.
I didn't eat soft foods for quite a while. I think it was around eight to ten weeks post-op. I had a splint wired to my upper jaw for six weeks and didn't bother with anything remotely viscous because it just got trapped up in there. After the splint was removed, I moved on to chunky/thicker soups, but I was timid when it came to tackling "substantial" food.
My swelling peaked at day three and slowly decreased after that, but I would say it wasn't until three weeks post-op when I started to look like myself again. I went out to movies and restaurants (I just watched my companions eat) around day ten. I made sure I had plenty of washcloths with me to soak up all the incessant drool. People probably assumed I'd just had a tooth pulled and no one seemed to care.
Pain in your joints isn't uncommon, but it is strange that you're experiencing joint pain when you swallow. Please talk to your surgeon about that.
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Lovely Rita
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:08 pm
Hi, I just had upper jaw surgery (Le Fort I) about 3 weeks ago. If by "normal" food you mean "solid" food, I have yet to cross that bridge! I'm still on a liquid/mush diet, which means I can only eat things with the same consistency as mashed potatoes. But almost anything can be ground up to a mashed-potatoes consistency... I've had beef stew, beef vindaloo, salmon (shredded up and squished with my fork), pasta (squished w/fork), quiche, cake, a chocolate bar (I just let it melt in my mouth & then swallow it), and LOTS of ice cream. I also had some cereal... if you let it sit and soak in the milk for like 15-20 minutes, it'll be soft enough to eat. So as you can see, I've been eating lots of "normal" food! My surgeon has told me to stick with the mush for the entire 6-8 weeks, although I think you should ask your particular surgeon what he thinks. Each case is different, as others have rightly said.
I started hanging out with my friends at 2 weeks. I think you'll definitely be ready for school. I'm still kinda swollen, but I'm really the only one who can tell anymore. I started looking like a passably ordinary person at about 1 1/2 weeks.
When it comes to the stuffy nose thing, my saving grace was nasal spray (Otrivin). I've been told that it should be used carefully and not too often, but man I think I'd have died without it. My nose was still very unhappy about 2 weeks after the surgery, but then it slowly got better. I still have some phlegm issues (gross I know) but it's entirely manageable.
Happy Healing
.
I started hanging out with my friends at 2 weeks. I think you'll definitely be ready for school. I'm still kinda swollen, but I'm really the only one who can tell anymore. I started looking like a passably ordinary person at about 1 1/2 weeks.
When it comes to the stuffy nose thing, my saving grace was nasal spray (Otrivin). I've been told that it should be used carefully and not too often, but man I think I'd have died without it. My nose was still very unhappy about 2 weeks after the surgery, but then it slowly got better. I still have some phlegm issues (gross I know) but it's entirely manageable.
Happy Healing
.
Hi there!
I am 3 weeks post op from le fort and I'm just finally starting to feel back to my old self. My upper jaw was broken in 3 segments like a previous poster above and I find it painful at times but not too bad. I'm on a soft / liquid diet - everything blended really well.
I can totally relate to the stuffy nose and bleeding. Definitely refrain from blowing your nose. A q-tip helped me a lot but I didn't pick at it too much as I was scared. I found Sudafed helped with clearing my sinuses for breathing.
Best of luck and keep us posted on your progress!
Take care.
Kim
I am 3 weeks post op from le fort and I'm just finally starting to feel back to my old self. My upper jaw was broken in 3 segments like a previous poster above and I find it painful at times but not too bad. I'm on a soft / liquid diet - everything blended really well.
I can totally relate to the stuffy nose and bleeding. Definitely refrain from blowing your nose. A q-tip helped me a lot but I didn't pick at it too much as I was scared. I found Sudafed helped with clearing my sinuses for breathing.
Best of luck and keep us posted on your progress!
Take care.
Kim