DEVASTATED - Just Told I Require Full Revision of Bi-Max Surgery

[SingleJawMelb]

Well here I am ... 2 weeks and 2 days post-revision.

I wish I had good news to report ... but I don't.

Long story short, my surgeon decided he could fix this problem by only moving my maxilla. I asked him several times if he felt that he could rectify things by only moving the maxilla and he assured me he could. However, as I predicted, by opting to only move the maxilla and not both jaws, I feel he restricted himself in terms of how far he could rotate the maxilla back to the centre/midline - because he still had to ensure that he maintained the relationship between maxilla and mandible (and the mandible was in the wrong position). Long story short, even after this revision, both jaws are still positioned too far to the left-hand side, making 2/3 of my face slope to the left.

When I tried to speak to him about it one week post-op, he became inappropriately emotional, and spent almost the entire appointment interrupting me when I was trying to quietly explain my concerns and gather information, speaking over the top of me, all the time telling him how hard my surgery has been for him, what a stressful time it has been for him. He made me feel as though, by raising my concerns, I was being ungrateful for his revision. But if he hadn't got it wrong the first time, he would not have needed to do the revision?? He told me he would not be doing anything more and if I wanted more surgery I would have to find someone else to do it. I had not even raised the possibility of more surgery, I just wanted to understand what had gone wrong, but I got no real answer to this question.

I am not the most assertive person, so in the end I just sat there listening to him tell me his tale of woe, and left feeling unheard and terribly alone.

I am now left with the same problem I had before the revision, but with more numbness and bone healing concerns. My friends are furious. I am depressed.

I'm not sure what happpens next ... my face is really really numb, much more numb than previous surgery. Now I'm scared that I will be left with permanent neuropathy, as well as a crooked face and constant pulling on my tmj.

I just don't know what to do ...

What country are you in? You need help, I'm so sorry for you.

[Eranthe]

I'm in Australia and yes, I do need help. I'm crying every day now, barely able to get out of bed each day. I don't go out with friends, and stay home most of the time. I've lost interest in the things I used to enjoy, I'm just going through the motions of jaw surgery recovery without anything to look forward to at the end. Recovery from these surgeries is tough enough when they are successful, the only thing that gets you through it is the excitement of the improvements that lie ahead. There is none of that for me as I can see already that things are still very wrong.

I am trying to collect all the xrays and cone beams I've done over the last few years (6 cone beams in 5 years!!!) ... as I'm very worried now about radiation exposure. I haven't been able to chew solid food for almost three years, my top left tmj constantly pulls to the left and when I hang my jaw down (without elastics) my mandible still falls to my right, whilst the maxilla still tilts up and off up to the left. My face is now crooked, I hate it. I just don't understand it ... my surgeon is well regarded and very experienced and, whilst he works with a registrar assisting him, he assured me he would be doing this revision surgery personally. He asked me to let him fix the last surgery personally, so I let him ... and it is still not right. Before these surgeries I had a long and enjoyable relationship with my surgeon as he monitored my severely impacted wisdom teeth for more than a decade. We genuinely liked eachother - I was extremely fond of him as a person. Now the relationship is strained and uncomfortable, it's so horrible. I can tell that both he and the orthodontist he works with are sick of the situation and sick of me ... they are not at all interested in my concerns now ... the orthodontist just wants to cosmetically finish things off now ... I feel so alone. Talking to my surgeon is like talking to a politician ... he never answers questions directly or clearly, he speaks in abstract terms and baffles me with sentences that go nowhere and say nothing much ... I took a friend with me the other day and he said the exact same thing.

One thing I know, from looking at all the old xrays, scans and photos, is that whilst I may have had a long face before these surgeries, it was straight ... as was my nose and chin. Now they are not.

If anyone can suggest my next move I would appreciate it ... I really don't want to take legal action, I just want these problems fixed so that I can get on with my life ... I can feel myself losing the hope and energy to fight and it scares me.

[Sadjaw]

I too ended up with asymmetrical face, a dent in one side of my jaw , TMJ which I didn't before. I am not assertive and the surgeon keep saying to wait. Today is one year since my bimaxila surgery. I wish I never did it.
No sure what to do. I am 50 and have such a hard time recuperating. My Lowe lip is numb. The functional aspects can get worse. I hate my asymmetrical face. Maybe I should explore getting fillers, I use make up now.

You are not alone, perhaps we just acccept our faces and think that there are others things more important in life.

[SingleJawMelb]

I'm in Australia and yes, I do need help. I'm crying every day now, barely able to get out of bed each day. I don't go out with friends, and stay home most of the time. I've lost interest in the things I used to enjoy, I'm just going through the motions of jaw surgery recovery without anything to look forward to at the end. Recovery from these surgeries is tough enough when they are successful, the only thing that gets you through it is the excitement of the improvements that lie ahead. There is none of that for me as I can see already that things are still very wrong.

I am trying to collect all the xrays and cone beams I've done over the last few years (6 cone beams in 5 years!!!) ... as I'm very worried now about radiation exposure. I haven't been able to chew solid food for almost three years, my top left tmj constantly pulls to the left and when I hang my jaw down (without elastics) my mandible still falls to my right, whilst the maxilla still tilts up and off up to the left. My face is now crooked, I hate it. I just don't understand it ... my surgeon is well regarded and very experienced and, whilst he works with a registrar assisting him, he assured me he would be doing this revision surgery personally. He asked me to let him fix the last surgery personally, so I let him ... and it is still not right. Before these surgeries I had a long and enjoyable relationship with my surgeon as he monitored my severely impacted wisdom teeth for more than a decade. We genuinely liked eachother - I was extremely fond of him as a person. Now the relationship is strained and uncomfortable, it's so horrible. I can tell that both he and the orthodontist he works with are sick of the situation and sick of me ... they are not at all interested in my concerns now ... the orthodontist just wants to cosmetically finish things off now ... I feel so alone. Talking to my surgeon is like talking to a politician ... he never answers questions directly or clearly, he speaks in abstract terms and baffles me with sentences that go nowhere and say nothing much ... I took a friend with me the other day and he said the exact same thing.

One thing I know, from looking at all the old xrays, scans and photos, is that whilst I may have had a long face before these surgeries, it was straight ... as was my nose and chin. Now they are not.

If anyone can suggest my next move I would appreciate it ... I really don't want to take legal action, I just want these problems fixed so that I can get on with my life ... I can feel myself losing the hope and energy to fight and it scares me.

Ok I suggest you see another surgeon in a private practice. From memory the cost wasn't significant with a Medicare card. You will need a referral and easy to get from a dentist or GP.

What city are you in? I can recommend ones in Melbourne.

Your team have messed up and you need an idea of what you can do next. I wouldn't go back to the surgeon, just collect your medical records and go else where.

If you were private patient in private hospital you would be getting your surgey done by the surgeon. That's what mine said. I'm not sure if you will be getting answers either way to who did your surgey, but I doubt you will be going back under their care. Maybe worth going down the surgey route?

I feel for you Hun, it's everyone's worst nightmare.

Unfortunately no one on this forum can really tell you what to do surgey wise, just give you support.

[wantsleep]

My absolute deepest condolences to you. Any updates on improvements function-wise? Breathing and TMJ? How is your apnea? Can you at least get restful sleep? You seem to still be recovering from the revision. Even if your jaws are still crooked, wouldn't some improvements emerge after waiting a while longer? You must be going through so much right now, but please stay strong and know that you're not absolutely not fighting this alone and that you'll survive this. Try not to exhaust yourself by dwelling on the past and ruminating about what-ifs of the past. Don't isolate yourself, talk to your friends and family. Talk to support groups online, talk to us here and on other other jaw surgery forums.

Again, remember your situation is not unique and you're absolutely not fighting this alone. Remember you're not alone. Medical mistakes do happen. You have friends and family and people online who sympathize with you and support you. People do care about you. You need all the help you can get, so please reach out to as many people as you can; don't fight this alone. Take time off to recoup instead of constantly thinking about the situation whenever you can. Concentrate on the recovery and find things enjoyable to do to relax yourself and unwind. Meditate. If things get really unbearable emotionally, maybe talk to a therapist or a counsellor. Don't lose hope, you haven't even tried everything. Have you considered just finding out who the best orthognathic surgeons are in your area and seeking their advice first?

Stay tough and please keep us updated whenever you can.

[MissH]

Liz this is awful! As a future person getting jaw surgery in Australia who was your surgeon I want to make sure I'm not seeing the same person

However my surgeon who did my SARPE and who will be doing my jaw surgery is brilliant (if he isnt the same as yours) if you are in Melbourne I can highly recommend him and give you an idea of costs if you're interested!!

[Run10KToday]

Hi, I fully understand your frustration. I just had a similar story like you and my face/jaw as well as my bite are screwed. I don't know what to do or what's my next step. I become more and more introverted and not willing to go out. Please keep us posted your progress.....

[lundberg]

Hi, I am very sorry to hear what you went through. I am deepest condolences. I hope you are on your way to a full recovery.

I am about to undergo the same surgery in the next couple of months. Can you please tell me the name of your surgeon or can anyone recommend a good surgeon in Sydney/Melbourne (message me if you do not want to mention names) they had good experience with? I want to avoid complications like this and it's getting more common. I don't know what surgeon to go with.

If anyone can tell me about their experience or confirm that any of the mentioned surgeons are good please tell me. Thanks in Advance!

[Holly20]

Hey, sorry for this loooonnnngggg rant But if you have any advice on asking for a revision or how you got your surgeon to do a revision (in Australia) (free of charge) and what personal costs you had to pay for the second surgery (anesthesia ect) PLEASEEEE let me know!!!

I just got jaw surgery + genio as well in Australia (Melbourne) 9 weeks ago...and I am now considering asking or talking about the possibility of a revision during my next appoint. which is in 10 days. I had about 3mm lip incompetence before the surgery which I was told by the two surgeons I consulted with would be rectified after surgery. Well...it's 9 weeks and I have 5mm lip incompetence at rest. Aesthetically the results have been okay although barely noticeable (perhaps slight improvement). The first few weeks I was extremely worried when the swelling in my lips went down and they couldn't touch, but every visit my surgeon assured me that they would touch. I kept saying "oh I read online that people whose lips didn't touch initially after surgery never touched" but they kept saying don't worry they will. My last appointment (about a month ago) I asked the same question and they said "like you said your lips probably wont ever touch". I was like...UMMM what?????
But I was so sick. Literally had to excuse myself from our consult before booking our next appointment because I had to throw up in the bathroom. Anyways I was so sick that day I was unable to really discuss the bombshell she just dropped on me because I was WAY too focused on getting out of the room alive.
I am the most passive person and find it so hard to confront people. I kind of convinced myself that it didn't matter that my lips don't touch. It's not too much hassle to spend every waking moment exerting effort to keep them closed, not to mention how sore my muscles are after a day out of being in public (trying to keep them closed) and how self conscious I feel all the time because I can never let my mind slip away to other things because I'm always left thinking "I need to keep my lips closed" and control the way my face looks. The other day I was at Ed Sheeran and my sister was like "god close your mouth you look ridiculous" because my lips were gaping open because my muscles hurt so much from trying to keep them closed all day and I just wanted a rest. It annoyed me so much that in life instead of being able to (like everyone else) just enjoy stuff and loose myself I always have to be conscious of and censor my face. I JUST wanted to listen to my beautiful ginger sing his heart out and like it's just so annoying to always have to worry about this in the back of my mind...to be constantly thinking about this issue. I know it may seem like a small thing expesically in comparison to what some of you are going through... I just really, really, really am just so exhausted. I want to wake up one day and not have the first thing on my mind be oh I better close my lips so I'm not mouth breathing! I can't even imagine all the things I could be focusing on and thinking of if i wasn't constantly being so introspective. Just always having to watch my lips makes me very conscious of how I look and myself in general which adds to my already problematic self-esteem issues because I'm constantly assessing and looking at myself and thinking about how I'm being perceived.
I just want to forget I exist sometimes and be free. And I'm sorry for this dramatic rant. I guess what I'm trying to say is HOW DO I ASK FOR A REVISION LET ALONE GET MY SURGEON TO ADMIT SHE MESSED UP? A girl on here messaged me the other day saying that she knew a girl who had double jaw surgery by my surgeon and didn't like the result (too little teeth showing at rest or something) and she offered to give her a revision free of charge. I was trying to convince myself that I liked it because I don't have the money to get a revision and it's easier to lie to yourself everyday than try admit that you just wasted $15,000 + when you are a broke uni student living off $50 a week... BUT if they would do I revision free of charge then I would do it. AND I honestly think I shouldn't even feel guilty for asking! This is what I paid for, this is what I spent spent 3 years (since I was 17 saving for this) and have been in braces since I was 15 :'(
I don't want to just have them quickly finish it all up and try and convince myself it's fine and I like it when deep down I know that this is NOT how it should be! And I really don't want to spend the rest of my life distracted by my lips. I feel like I'm missing life in a way and I'm not ever fully in the moment enjoying it because a part of my mind is always with my lips. :/
pretty please give advice and if anyone actually read this. gawd good on you.

[courtney90]

Holly did you ever get info on a revision? Or in fact get one? I’m in the same boat. Haven’t spoken to my surgeon yet as I’m petrified of being fobbed off but my face is completely mashed up now but there’s no way I could afford the $17,000 it cost in the first place. I’m a single Mum and I really took a leap of faith, the surgeon told me it wouldn’t change the rest of my face much and that changes would be subtle but it’s been over a year now and I look like a hobbit.

[abro884]

is this a common australian problem? I had surgery - i had the crooked lower jaw (tmj not in on one side) and then had revision - tmj was then out on the opposite side. I was simultaneously fobbed off and brought in too close to the emotional world of my surgeon, and my face and lips are now completely assymmetrical. I don't want to believe that surgeons are happy to gaslight and victim blame their patients when it's their own fault their vulnerable patient is disfigured... but then again I wouldn't put it past them.