PLEASE HELP

[beachbum6194]

Hi everyone, I am a 17 year old girl who just underwent orthognathic surgery... I cant say it was exactly fun, but I survived. My surgeon, right off the bat, told me that he would refer to my orthodontist (she is also a surgeon) and the first thing that she instructed me to do was not to chew or open my mouth, as the bone could not heal properly. Well, I listened and followed her instructions to the letter. Now I just went back to her for my 9 week visit, and she told me that I might not ever get my full range of motion back, as I have not been stretching my jaw.... This is the FIRST TIME anyone ever said anything about stretching the jaw post op. Well I am currently panicking, and have been trying to stretch it as much as possible this week, but nevertheless I can not even fit two fingers in my mouth.

Does anyone think I might get my full range of motion back? If not, would I have to undergo this surgery again? Is there any experience with this problem? To be totally honest, this experience was quite miserable and I dont know when I will have the time to take off a few weeks for recovery, as I will be in college next year. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

[streo]

So sorry to hear about this. Have you asked about physical therapy? I would be surprised to learn that simply not moving your jaw post surgery actually leads to a permanent limitation of your range of motion.

[Summertimeolive]

That would be very misleading if your surgeon told you not to do anything and then now saying that you have lost full range of motion...

Just stretch your jaw, a little bit everyday. look into physical therapy, acupuncture and massage! I understand you are in panic mode right now but do as much research as you can and know there are answers to your situation! I also rec hopping on fb and joining the we need jaw surgery group maybe someone there can be of more help!

[keeponsmiling]

Did you have surgery on both jaws or just one? I'm eight weeks post-op after double surgery and was banded tight shut for three weeks then had another three weeks with a splint which massively impedes chewing. I'm back to a normal brace now but despite a fortnight of gentle chewing and stretching can still only open my mouth one and a half finger widths. So I think your current range of motion sounds normal and you shouldn't panic, but you probably would benefit from exercising the muscles a bit. The bone and stitches will be healed by now so I'm sure you won't do any damage by giving it a go.

[bathspider]

I am in a similar position to keeponsmiling, I had both jaws operated on and I was banded tight shut for three weeks followed by another 3-4 with bands which meant that I could not open my mouth very wide at all for this whole period. After that I was given exercises to do several times a day to stretch out the muscles and enable me to open my jaw properly again. I have made quite a bit of improvement but I have still lost probably over a 1/3 of the range of movement that I had before the operation. I am hoping that when I see the ortho again she will be able to suggest some further exercises or an intervention that will increase it further. Anyway, I wouldn't despair just yet I think you will be able to improve on your current situation with the exercises, but it takes time and patience. If anything elses is suggested to help me I will pass it on to you...