Post-Surgery Breathing

[aep4pDC]

Hi All!

I am getting ready to start the process leading to double jaw surgery next year (4 bicuspid extractions next month, then braces for about 12 months, and then surgery). One of the biggest things about the surgery that is worrying me (among other things), is what I have heard and seen on here as well as blogs about the inability to breathe well immediately after surgery (particularly after double jaw surgery with mouth banded shut and nose congested).

Therefore, I want to ask those that have done the surgery: (1) How bad on a scale of 1 - 10 was your inability to breathe after surgery with 1 being not bad and 10 being full-on panic and needing immediate solution? (2) How long did this inability to breathe well last? (3) Is there anything in particular that you did that seemed to help significantly with dealing with it?

Any input is appreciated. I understand if time will be the only thing that really helps, but just trying to wrap my mind around what to expect.

Thanks!!

[Mart]

Hey,

To answer your questions I'd say that I was hovering around a 9 in terms of congestion for the first 4-5 days post-op. This was why I was so concerned- I was teetering on the brink of not being able to breath almost continuously, however what you must think at times like these is that this surgery is performed very regularly, and the doctors know what they're doing, so you mustn't panic. This didn't prevent me from panicking however..

On the fifth day I became so frustrated that I carefully removed all the blood clots and inconspicious crust formations (I hope you still want to go ahead with the surgery after this) from my nostrils just so I could get some sound sleep. However I wouldn't recommend you do this as you risk causing severe bleeding from your nose that would easily constitute an emergency. On the other hand by this point I was so sleep deprived that this risk didn't even phase me.

I didn't do this but those more sensible than myself have advocated the use of cotton buds dipped in peroxide to help softly dissolve and dislodge the clots in the nostrils. I'd recommend you adopt this technique rather than blindly picking blood clots out of your nose as I did.

Mart.

[snapdresser]

I didn't have any issue breathing. Yes, my nose was clogged, but my jaws weren't wired together and I could easily breathe through my mouth, so I never felt like I was even remotely close to suffocating or something. I was expecting it to be much worse and I could see it being difficult if you're wired shut, but most people aren't.

[jaime]

I agree with snapdresser. When I woke up from the anesthesia, it felt like I couldn't breathe well, but I was lying at an angle where blood was trickling down my throat constantly. It got better within a few hours. Once home, I took decongestants regularly which helped. I was totally congestion-free within about a week.

Personally, I don't think it's something to seriously worry about. You'll be in a hospital being closely monitored. You'll be okay.

[Mart]

I think what the OP should take away from these responses is that everybody's experience with this surgery is different. I think it would be a mistake to worry about something that may or may not happen, you'll be fine either way!

M

[KatMarie99]

One of my concerns is breathing afterwards too! Hoping the congestion won't be too bad.

[sirwired]

The LeFort I operation is well known to cause swelling and some minor nosebleeds (and bleeding down the back too.) Your doctor should go over all this at discharge. For me, it was 12-hour nasal spray (for just a few days! You WILL get addicted to it if you use it too long), and Sudafed liquid (since swallowing pills is tough) until I was all better. I was given an Rx for the Sudafed liquid so I could buy it all at once (and not get hit by the purchase restrictions that affect over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine) All the pharmacist did was stick official Rx labels on the OTC boxes.

[StefanoMI]

Had double jaw surgery and didn't have any problem with breathing.

[PashaBursi]

I've got to be honest, this has been my only difficulty in recovery. When I woke up from surgery my mouth was wired shut and really swollen but my nose. My god, my nose was utterly congested. On a scale of 1-10 straight up 10. I wish I was exaggerating or a person who just is a wuss but for me, for my experience, it was a 10. I panicked a lot because I just couldn't breathe, I was hot, my face was swollen. The nurses used suction in my nose (not pleasant), spray, drops, and a pressure wash with saline water. Nothing made any difference. If (IF!!!) you experience anything similar just relax, don't think about breathing, that's what will make you panic. Sleep as much as you can, sit up, distract yourself, ask for a oxygen mask (it's nice and cold and will just psychologically comfort you in knowing you're not going to die!). If you can't take it (like me) ask for a sedative. When you're totally relaxed, you won't think about it and as long as you're not thinking about it you will just breathe through your mouth and it will become normal.

The next day I came home. I had no oxygen mask but I did have a cool humidifier. That thing was literally straight in my face for a week straight. Everyday a tiny bit would open up in my nose for an hour or two where a little air would get in. But it was actually quite annoying because it just made me want to blow my nose because of the annoying feeling and squeaky sound. Each day the little opening would last for longer and occur more often in the day. I would also clean out the blood and mucus and other lovely stuff with nasoprine, saline water and qtips regularly. I used drops and sprays but they only worked for like 5 minutes. By my second week I could breathe through both my nostrils although I had swelling on my nose so still felt a little tight, it's now week 3 and I can breathe through my nose 90% like normal.

Even though my experience wasn't great by day 3 I was totally used to just breathing out of my mouth. It wasn't scary or frustrating anymore. It was just inconvenient because my mouth would get dry a lot particularly at night when I was sleeping but the humidifier straight in my face helped as did keeping water by my bed to sip on when I woke up with a dry mouth.

Hope that helped if you do experience something like that but please remember everyone's experience is different! I thought I'd be throwing up blood like a lot of people after surgery and was terrified of that and thought it would be the worst part but I didn't even feel nauseous! But I didn't even consider the nightmare of the nasal congestion lol

[Tgirl22]

Breathing was a struggle for me and I had double jaw surgery. When I got home I couldn't sleep because I couldn't breathe well. I wasn't wired shut but I had 20 rubber bands keeping me shut! They gave me liquid congestion medicine at the hospital but when I got home whatever my family got was NOT the same and it was horrible... I used a humidifier at home, that helped some but it wasn't until I went back to the Dr and he prescribed a sleeping pill and told me about the small red sudafed pills. With some maneuvering I was able to get those tiny pulls between the bands and swallow them. That was a BIG help!! Not being able to breathe is freaky... I also cleared out the dried boogies and used Vicks puffs... Everyone is different so you may not have issues so don't get too concerned... GL

[SueV]

I had double jaw surgery February 17 so I'm exactly one week post-op. Most recovery is going well - except for one nostril that is completely stuffed. The left nostril is nearly swollen shut from the inside. The hardest part is not being able to sleep due to mouth breathing. I'm happy to have found this message board as all searching on google doesn't give me straight answers. Has anyone else had swelling INSIDE their nose? If so, how long does it last? Thanks for any replies!

[snapdresser]

SueV - Nasal swelling seems to be one of those longer-lasting issues for a lot of people. Mine was gone within about 2 weeks. Other people have reported 4 weeks or more with swelling in the area around their nose but I'm not sure if it affected the inside of their noses too. I know mine did.

[Tgirl22]

I still have swelling inside my nose but I can breathe pretty good. Still haven't blown my nose and I know there is stuff way in there but I can breathe even w the swelling.

[sakura]

Double jaw surgery 3 weeks ago checking in here

I had surgery Thursday afternoon and by Friday morning I was completely clogged. I panicked quite a bit but by Friday evening I learned to breathe with my mouth. They gave me a saline nebuliser and while it was loud as heck, it helped unclog all of the mucus and blood for me. I slept with it in my face and that gave me quite a bit of comfort. I would say by Sunday I was able to breathe a bit through my nose. Saline nose spray helps a lot as it dislodges a lot of the mucus and blood clots since you can't blow your nose or sneeze. I'm three weeks out and still get severe dry mouth when I sleep so I wake up about every other hour or so. A lot of people didn't have this problem so I suspect it's just me.

[Nozzelnut]

Try clenching your teeth; and breathe through them. You can do it; it's just awkward and different. Especially if you're not used to breathing through your mouth. For most of us, the space added during surgery will help your breathing a lot!

My stuffiness lasted a couple days, gently rinsing with saline helped quite a bit. The swelling peaks day 3ish.