DC/Maryland/VA orthognathic surgeons
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DC/Maryland/VA orthognathic surgeons
Could any of you in the dc maryland area recommend a good orthognathic surgeon that you have been to or know of. Also has anyone had an experience with Dr. Obeid at Washington Hospital Center. Any info is appreciated. Thanks
As far as I know Dr. Posnick is one of the world's eminent maxfac surgeons, and is based in Maryland.
http://www.drposnick.com/
http://www.drposnick.com/
On December 18th I had surgery with Dr. Jeffrey Posnick and I could not be happier with the results. He is not only an outstanding surgeon, but a person who generally wants to help people. The only downside to having him conduct the surgery is he accepts no insurance companies. Although the surgery is expensive he was well worth the cost in my opinion. I'll be 5 weeks post op Thursday and he's been extremely helpful every step of the way. If you have any questions about him just let me know! Best of luck!
Krikri306, may I ask what kind of surgery you had? I mean. Was it upper, lower, or both jaws with genio? How many mm of movement from each jaw? How many months of pre surgery braces you had to go through? What was the most uncomfortable part of your recovery? Was it the pain, the inability to chew or to talk, or whatever you felt frustrated?
When you said expensive, I wonder what ball part figure were you talking about? I would assume your insurance must have covered the overnight stay at the hospital. Otherwise, it would be very expensive if he doesn't accept insurance at all. I don't know much of this yet since my surgery is still probably 8 to 10 months away. I better save up more just in case the insurance doesn't cover that much. Thanks.
When you said expensive, I wonder what ball part figure were you talking about? I would assume your insurance must have covered the overnight stay at the hospital. Otherwise, it would be very expensive if he doesn't accept insurance at all. I don't know much of this yet since my surgery is still probably 8 to 10 months away. I better save up more just in case the insurance doesn't cover that much. Thanks.
Oneguy, I had both jaws moved and a genio along with removal of my wisdom teeth. My upper jaw was moved 5mm and my lower jaw was moved 7mm so it was large movements for both my jaws. I was only in braces for 6 months prior to my jaw surgery. This is a rather short time compared to others, but I also had braces twice before I decided to go the jaw surgery route. Along with moving my upper jaw forward and up it was also split into three sections to widen it. Since I had this split I had to wear a splint for 5 weeks to keep my bite aligned properly during the healing. In my opinion the splint is by far the most uncomfortable part of the whole process. It makes trying to drink and consume liquid foods even more difficult. Talking was hard for about the first week, but I became a pro at mumbling and by the end of the second week everyone could pretty much understand me. I was heavily banded shut for 5 weeks so I was on a straight liquid diet which was difficult. I get the splint out tomorrow and I'm able to start eating again and I'm so excited!! Although it was hard not eating I'm so happy with the results thus far that giving up food was well worth it. The pain really isn't that bad. Just uncomfortable with swelling and not being able to open your mouth. I didn't even finish the heavy painkillers the surgeon gave me.
The hospital I stayed at, Georgetown, was covered by my insurance so the two night stay should be covered 100%. For the two nights the cost ended up being around $47,000. The surgery itself costs around $24,000 but this included upper jaw, lower jaw, removal of four wisdom teeth, three way split of the upper jaw, genioplasty, septioplasty, and reduction of turbinates since I was unable to breath through my nose. Being out of network the insurance company said they would cover a maximum of 80%. If they do cover that much I'll be very happy. I'm still waiting with my fingers crossed on the amount they decide to cover. I hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more questions.
The hospital I stayed at, Georgetown, was covered by my insurance so the two night stay should be covered 100%. For the two nights the cost ended up being around $47,000. The surgery itself costs around $24,000 but this included upper jaw, lower jaw, removal of four wisdom teeth, three way split of the upper jaw, genioplasty, septioplasty, and reduction of turbinates since I was unable to breath through my nose. Being out of network the insurance company said they would cover a maximum of 80%. If they do cover that much I'll be very happy. I'm still waiting with my fingers crossed on the amount they decide to cover. I hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Wow, Krikri306, you were banded shut for 5 weeks. That's the part that concerns me because I'll need to go back to work after 3 weeks. Don't you have screws and plates holding your jaws together or some kind of internal regid fixation? I thought the whole point of using screws and plates is to avoid banding shut your jaws. I kind of get confused now. I'm trying to understand this thing. When you said you were "banded shut", did you mean your upper and lower teeth are literally and physically touching each other held by elastic bands as if you close your mouth completely? You mean you can not even open up little bit to stick a straw in the center of your mouth between the upper and lower teeth? So basically, you can only drink through both sides of your mouth while your bite is held together by the elastic bands. Is that right?
Did you know in advance that your upper jaw was gonna get broken into 3 sections? I read that some surgeons would not be able to know until they cut the jaws opened or something. How was your bite before surgery? For me, I have an over jet and deep bite. I'll probably end up getting the exact same surgery like you had. How many mm of your chin was advanced? I assume that your insurance doesn't cover genio because many posters have said the same thing.
I've never stayed at the hospital over night for surgery. Some posters complain about unpleasant experience at the hospital. I wonder how your experience was. Were the nurses helpful? Did they really take care of you? Were you in a private room? Were you be able to walk around little bit? That was quite expensive for 2 night stays. Looking back, hypothetically speaking, if you were asked to check out only after one night, could you do it physically and mentally? Could your body feel strong enough to walk out of the hospital after only one night of stay? Some people said 2 nights might have been too much. I don't know. I guess it also depends on the surgeon. I guess.
Did you know in advance that your upper jaw was gonna get broken into 3 sections? I read that some surgeons would not be able to know until they cut the jaws opened or something. How was your bite before surgery? For me, I have an over jet and deep bite. I'll probably end up getting the exact same surgery like you had. How many mm of your chin was advanced? I assume that your insurance doesn't cover genio because many posters have said the same thing.
I've never stayed at the hospital over night for surgery. Some posters complain about unpleasant experience at the hospital. I wonder how your experience was. Were the nurses helpful? Did they really take care of you? Were you in a private room? Were you be able to walk around little bit? That was quite expensive for 2 night stays. Looking back, hypothetically speaking, if you were asked to check out only after one night, could you do it physically and mentally? Could your body feel strong enough to walk out of the hospital after only one night of stay? Some people said 2 nights might have been too much. I don't know. I guess it also depends on the surgeon. I guess.
Dr. Posnick performed my surgery last March and I seriously cannot rave enough about him or his staff. I had a good point of comparison, too, as I went through the initial evaluation and first two years of my braces in consultation with another surgeon who was totally cold and barely spent 5 minutes with me each time I saw him. His staff got a rejection letter from my insurance company and basically threw their hands up in the air. Dr. Posnick, on the other hand, spent about an hour with me on each of my first three visits with him pre-op. I was scheduled for surgery with insurance approval within two months of seeing him.
So the deal with the insurance is this-- they approve all of the different procedural codes (upper, lower, septo, and turbinates in my case... genio was declined). This covered 100% of my hospital stay. Since Dr. P is out of network, however, I had to pay his fee (over $20K... I took out a loan) up front, and then his office submits the claim forms for you. His office also suggests that you call your insurance pre-op for an estimate of reimbursement. In my case, the reimbursement was estimated to be $16K by a BCBS representative before I went into surgery. Since then, after much fighting over lost paperwork and incorrectly entered information by the insurance company, they have sent me a grand total of $3K, and I am STILL fighting them on it.
Dr. P does use internal rigid fixation (plates and screws) but you still will have the dreaded splint and tight rubberbanding holding your mouth basically shut for 5 weeks. You will be eating with the help of a syringe or a Zip and Squeeze. He explicitly forbids the use of straws-- he explained that the suction motion could affect the positioning of the bone regrowth. I went back to work a little over two weeks post-op, and was barely understandable. I carried a white board around with me, or my laptop to type out comments at meetings.
I had my lower jaw moved about 11 mm and I'm not sure on the upper. It was a pretty dramatic change.
The Georgetown Hospital staff were very nice and tried to be helpful, but I found them to be completely clueless as to dealing with a jaw surgery patient (which is weird since Dr. P does so many surgeries there). I had to repeatedly ask for food, as they kept forgetting to bring me any. They weren't aware that I was on a meal-replacement (Boost/Ensure) diet as opposed to a liquid (apple juice and broth-- few calories) diet. Had to repeatedly ask for that. I also kept being awaken (when I managed to sleep) by a knocking noise from water trapped in my humidified air contraption. When I'd ring for the nurse, I'd get a "hello, can I help you?" over the intercom, which was completely frustrating given the fact that I COULDN'T TALK! And every time a new nurse came on duty I went through this all over again.
I was in the hospital for two days, and barely felt ready to leave when the time came. I didn't want to move AT ALL. But ultimately, being at home was better. It was rough... I'm glad I had it done... but I'd never want to go through it again.
I have to say, having just been in a lot of pics this past weekend at Inaugural events... It feels so great to smile without being self-conscious! Not to mention I can bite into a wrap and have it come off in one piece instead of smushing all over the place. And the tension headaches I'd had my whole life are gone gone gone.
I'm happy to answer any other questions, but take my word for it when I say that Dr. Posnick is the bomb.
So the deal with the insurance is this-- they approve all of the different procedural codes (upper, lower, septo, and turbinates in my case... genio was declined). This covered 100% of my hospital stay. Since Dr. P is out of network, however, I had to pay his fee (over $20K... I took out a loan) up front, and then his office submits the claim forms for you. His office also suggests that you call your insurance pre-op for an estimate of reimbursement. In my case, the reimbursement was estimated to be $16K by a BCBS representative before I went into surgery. Since then, after much fighting over lost paperwork and incorrectly entered information by the insurance company, they have sent me a grand total of $3K, and I am STILL fighting them on it.
Dr. P does use internal rigid fixation (plates and screws) but you still will have the dreaded splint and tight rubberbanding holding your mouth basically shut for 5 weeks. You will be eating with the help of a syringe or a Zip and Squeeze. He explicitly forbids the use of straws-- he explained that the suction motion could affect the positioning of the bone regrowth. I went back to work a little over two weeks post-op, and was barely understandable. I carried a white board around with me, or my laptop to type out comments at meetings.
I had my lower jaw moved about 11 mm and I'm not sure on the upper. It was a pretty dramatic change.
The Georgetown Hospital staff were very nice and tried to be helpful, but I found them to be completely clueless as to dealing with a jaw surgery patient (which is weird since Dr. P does so many surgeries there). I had to repeatedly ask for food, as they kept forgetting to bring me any. They weren't aware that I was on a meal-replacement (Boost/Ensure) diet as opposed to a liquid (apple juice and broth-- few calories) diet. Had to repeatedly ask for that. I also kept being awaken (when I managed to sleep) by a knocking noise from water trapped in my humidified air contraption. When I'd ring for the nurse, I'd get a "hello, can I help you?" over the intercom, which was completely frustrating given the fact that I COULDN'T TALK! And every time a new nurse came on duty I went through this all over again.
I was in the hospital for two days, and barely felt ready to leave when the time came. I didn't want to move AT ALL. But ultimately, being at home was better. It was rough... I'm glad I had it done... but I'd never want to go through it again.
I have to say, having just been in a lot of pics this past weekend at Inaugural events... It feels so great to smile without being self-conscious! Not to mention I can bite into a wrap and have it come off in one piece instead of smushing all over the place. And the tension headaches I'd had my whole life are gone gone gone.
I'm happy to answer any other questions, but take my word for it when I say that Dr. Posnick is the bomb.
OneGuy, I was banded shut completely for three weeks with four rubber bands on each side of my mouth. After my third post op visit Posnick taught me how to change the bands myself so I could take them off three times a day for an hour at a time. At this point you're lightly banded so you could definitely go to work. To consume liquids you have to put a syringe in the side of your mouth and squirt. It's not fun, but it gets the job done.
I knew I was going to get my upper jaw sectioned in three pieces prior to the surgery. As soon as Posnick took my molds he decided that I needed to have this done. I had an open bite so upper and lower jaw surgery was necessary. I believe that my chin was moved 5mm forward. The insurance didn't cover it since they considered this procedure cosmetic.
This surgery was my first time in the hospital as well. Overall it was a good experience. The nurses were very attentive and were knowledgeable. I was in the intensive care unit but I did have a private room which was great. The day after the surgery I was up walking around the nurses station. The doctor saw me at 9pm the day after my surgery and he said that if he would have seen me earlier I would have been able to go home after just one night in the hospital since I was ready. I felt strong enough to leave after one night, but staying another helped me become more prepared for taking care of myself at home. Let me know if you have any other questions
I knew I was going to get my upper jaw sectioned in three pieces prior to the surgery. As soon as Posnick took my molds he decided that I needed to have this done. I had an open bite so upper and lower jaw surgery was necessary. I believe that my chin was moved 5mm forward. The insurance didn't cover it since they considered this procedure cosmetic.
This surgery was my first time in the hospital as well. Overall it was a good experience. The nurses were very attentive and were knowledgeable. I was in the intensive care unit but I did have a private room which was great. The day after the surgery I was up walking around the nurses station. The doctor saw me at 9pm the day after my surgery and he said that if he would have seen me earlier I would have been able to go home after just one night in the hospital since I was ready. I felt strong enough to leave after one night, but staying another helped me become more prepared for taking care of myself at home. Let me know if you have any other questions
David Ross
I just had upper jaw surgery with David Ross. Dr. Ross has his office in Bethesda on Battery Ln, but operates out of Washington Hospital Center. Dr. Ross is very nice and takes lots of time to make sure his patients are comfortable with whats going on. The staff at the hospital were also great. I found Dr. Ross because of his extra high ranking in the Washingtonian Top Docs list, but a friend of mine at work also had a good experience getting his wisdom teeth out by him.
Just wanting to throw in my two cents about my experiences with Dr. Posnick!
I just had surgery (a little less than a week ago). I had my upper and lower done, as well as my turbinates/septum in the nose, and my chin reshaped. I wore braces for almost a year prior to surgery (roughly 8-9 months).
So far, previous comments have been pretty much spot-on. I met with Posnick and his staff about three times pre-op, for about an hour each session. He was very informative during each, and you definitely get the sense that he knows what he's doing. He's done a ton of these things, and literally wrote the book (this is how I discovered him in the first place, a family friend in the business recommended him as the expert on the east coast).
I was in Georgetown hospital for two nights (released around 8 am of my third day). I was medicated pretty well the entire time. The staff at the hospital were mostly friendly, though I did run into the troubles echoed above (e.g. the nurses asking me over the intercom what I wanted -- I had to press the button a few times before they showed up so I could pantomime my request).
I'm still getting used to the splint and bands. To be honest, the reason I came on here was to see if it will get better, and am pretty happy to be reassured by the previous posters. The worst part, I think, is having to alternate between breathing, drinking, and not drooling all over yourself. My nose is starting to recover a bit, and I can tell that some feeling is coming back to my lips -- each day is getting easier than the last. That being said, my face still doesn't have full feeling back, and probably won't for months (that's to be expected). In addition, its pretty swollen, and has a degree of pain. Not really pain per se, like a shocking or jolting pain, but more like a steady feeling of pressure on my entire jaw and face. Sort of gives one a headache after a while...
At any rate, I'm happy to post updates as to my recovery, for anyone interested, but maybe you already have all of your questions answered? Anyhow, its a good forum for me to vent a little bit
Have a great one,
GF
I just had surgery (a little less than a week ago). I had my upper and lower done, as well as my turbinates/septum in the nose, and my chin reshaped. I wore braces for almost a year prior to surgery (roughly 8-9 months).
So far, previous comments have been pretty much spot-on. I met with Posnick and his staff about three times pre-op, for about an hour each session. He was very informative during each, and you definitely get the sense that he knows what he's doing. He's done a ton of these things, and literally wrote the book (this is how I discovered him in the first place, a family friend in the business recommended him as the expert on the east coast).
I was in Georgetown hospital for two nights (released around 8 am of my third day). I was medicated pretty well the entire time. The staff at the hospital were mostly friendly, though I did run into the troubles echoed above (e.g. the nurses asking me over the intercom what I wanted -- I had to press the button a few times before they showed up so I could pantomime my request).
I'm still getting used to the splint and bands. To be honest, the reason I came on here was to see if it will get better, and am pretty happy to be reassured by the previous posters. The worst part, I think, is having to alternate between breathing, drinking, and not drooling all over yourself. My nose is starting to recover a bit, and I can tell that some feeling is coming back to my lips -- each day is getting easier than the last. That being said, my face still doesn't have full feeling back, and probably won't for months (that's to be expected). In addition, its pretty swollen, and has a degree of pain. Not really pain per se, like a shocking or jolting pain, but more like a steady feeling of pressure on my entire jaw and face. Sort of gives one a headache after a while...
At any rate, I'm happy to post updates as to my recovery, for anyone interested, but maybe you already have all of your questions answered? Anyhow, its a good forum for me to vent a little bit
Have a great one,
GF
Re: DC/Maryland/VA orthognathic surgeons
Hi All!
I'm not sure if anyone that had jaw surgery with Dr. Posnick 4-5 years back still checks this forum, but I am looking to have double jaw surgery (in addition to turbinate reduction, genio, and wisdom teeth removal) with him next year (late 2016/early 2017) and have a few questions:
- Once all paperwork was final, how much did you pay out of pocket roughly?
- What insurance company did you have/work with for the out-of-network benefits?
- The biggest thing that is scaring me now, is the thought of not being able to breathe. How bad was this on a scale of 1 -10? How long did it last? How did you manage it?
- Any regrets or questions you wish you would have asked beforehand?
I would greatly appreciate any input!
Thanks!!
I'm not sure if anyone that had jaw surgery with Dr. Posnick 4-5 years back still checks this forum, but I am looking to have double jaw surgery (in addition to turbinate reduction, genio, and wisdom teeth removal) with him next year (late 2016/early 2017) and have a few questions:
- Once all paperwork was final, how much did you pay out of pocket roughly?
- What insurance company did you have/work with for the out-of-network benefits?
- The biggest thing that is scaring me now, is the thought of not being able to breathe. How bad was this on a scale of 1 -10? How long did it last? How did you manage it?
- Any regrets or questions you wish you would have asked beforehand?
I would greatly appreciate any input!
Thanks!!
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MagnoliaMama
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 2:33 pm
Re: DC/Maryland/VA orthognathic surgeons
My orthodontist suggested Posnick if price was no barrier, but I couldn't afford to risk being out of pocket over $20k. His suggestion for "the next best" was either Warburton or Caccamese out of University of MD. I went with Warburton and so far have no complaints outside the usual jaw patient complaints about hospital staff stupidity regarding the specifics of our kind of recovery.
One thing of note, most people I've talked to have struggled with insurance issues. I've had exactly none and I credit Dr. Warburton's staff with that.
One thing of note, most people I've talked to have struggled with insurance issues. I've had exactly none and I credit Dr. Warburton's staff with that.
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littlebird
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2016 10:56 am
Re: DC/Maryland/VA orthognathic surgeons
My surgeon is Dr. Strickland with Village Oral and Implant Surgery in Leesburg, VA. He took my wisdom teeth out last year and is doing my BSSO/Lefort I/Genio in a couple weeks. He and his staff are great, and he operates out of Inova Lansdowne.