Jaw surgery in CANADA? PLEASE HELP!

[tonightwefly]

I am 27 years old and want to get orthognathic surgery to correct my crooked jaw as well as the resulting facial asymmetry. Somehow my eyes don't appear to be even and I believe this has to do with the misalignment of my jaw. I had braces from the time I was 10 to 15 and even then the ortho told me I'd need surgery to fix my bite if I wanted to take it one step further.

I would like to know if you must approach choosing an oral surgeon with the same care as you would a cosmetic surgeon. I see many people going to the oral surgeon their orthodontist recommended them to and settling with whomever that may be. Furthermore, is it unheard of to have a local orthodontist, but travel far away (across cities, or even provinces) to get your orthognathic surgery done?

I now live in the province of Quebec, Canada and I am covered under the health plan here. Does it matter which orthodontist I end up with?

Someone please help me out! Thank you so much in advance!

[Marisama]

I recently had surgery to correct asymmetry. My eyes appeared different like you described. This has mostly been corrected with HA cheek grafting. I'm very pleased with the results so far. I traveled out of state to have surgery.

[tonightwefly]

Hi, that's very interesting, aren't I luck you decided to pop into my thread! Can you tell me what HA cheek grafting stands for? How much did your surgery cost you (without insurance)?

[tonightwefly]

[quote="Marisama"]I recently had surgery to correct asymmetry. My eyes appeared different like you described. This has mostly been corrected with HA cheek grafting. I'm very pleased with the results so far. I traveled out of state to have surgery.[/quote]

I went to your blog and looked up the term condylar hyperplasia, and was absolutely astounded to see how similar pictures of people affected with this condition are to my face! I am very excited now, as I now have a name for what I have, but where do I start seeking treatment? I do not have an orthodontist right now. Should I start looking up oral surgeons in my area or start by finding an orthodontist?

It seems your case was quite complex. Is this why you had to go out of state to find the right surgeon?

[Marisama]

Yes, my case was quite complex. I'm very glad I went to a top surgeon. I traveled to California from out of state to have surgery. It's my understanding that asymmetry is much more difficult to correct than just moving the jaws forward or backwards only. My asymmetry stemmed from condylar hypoplasia it turns out, not hyperplasia. So this means that I had one side that was too short instead of one side being too long. I had the shorter side lengthened to match the other.

I plan on updating my blog with more post-op pictures as I heal more. I am only 2 1/2 weeks post-op right now. It's been much easier than anticipated so I urge you to seek surgery if your jaw bothers you as much as mine did me.

[tonightwefly]

[quote="Marisama"]Yes, my case was quite complex. I'm very glad I went to a top surgeon. I traveled to California from out of state to have surgery. It's my understanding that asymmetry is much more difficult to correct than just moving the jaws forward or backwards only. My asymmetry stemmed from condylar hypoplasia it turns out, not hyperplasia. So this means that I had one side that was too short instead of one side being too long. I had the shorter side lengthened to match the other.

I plan on updating my blog with more post-op pictures as I heal more. I am only 2 1/2 weeks post-op right now. It's been much easier than anticipated so I urge you to seek surgery if your jaw bothers you as much as mine did me.[/quote]

Thanks for the reply.

How was it finally determined that you had hypoplasia not hyperplasia? Did Dr Gunson diagnose that for you? Or did your orthodontist? Was it difficult to get your orthodontist to see that you had this condition in the first place? I've read on this forum or another of someone who had trouble finding an oral surgeon who had heard of condylar hyperplasia/hypoplasia so I'm worried this might happen to me too.

The pictures I've seen are just too uncannily similar to my own face that I am almost convinced I have this deformity. Is your case of CH more complex than typical CH cases, or are all CH cases considered complex? There is just slim chance I'll be able to afford the 50K bill Dr Gunson charges. I am hoping very badly that a less renowned, but perfectly capable surgeon here in Canada where I may be able to get insurance, could handle my case.

[BlondLeek]

Hi fly.

I am also in Canada (close to Toronto) and I just had jaw surgery for my asymmetrical face in November 2012. It's been about 9 weeks and I'm still recovering but getting better.

I looked at Ryan's blog just now and my asymmetry was way worse than his.

Anyway, to answer your question as to where to go for surgery... What happens is that normally you will see an orthodontist first, and then they'll refer to you to the orthognathic surgeon. You can choose a different one, it's not like you're stuck, but thats basically how it goes. In my case, my ortho did refer me to my surgeon and I went with him. My ortho apparently had used other surgeons in the past but was getting really great results from my surgeon, and now he uses him exclusively.

If I were you, I would maybe get consults from a few orthodontists and surgeons and see who you feel the most comfortable with. Ask to see pictures of any similar cases and see the befores and afters. To be honest, asymmetry is rarer than the other types of jaw problems, and its a more complicated movement.

If you have any other questions for me I'd be happy to answer them.

Also, I am a 29 year old female.

[tonightwefly]

Hi Blond Leek, I don't know if you still check the forum, but I would love to ask you some questions about your surgery journey. Especially considering how you also had facial asymmetry prior to the surgery, I'm very interested in seeing if your surgery corrected it! I've sent you a PM too, by the way.

[Xela123]

Hi BlondLeek,


Can you tell me who was your oral surgeon in Toronto? I also have face asymmetry. How do you feel about the surgery?
Did it correct the asymmetry? Are you happy you did it?
Thank you.