A concern about permanent numbness after lower jaw surgery.

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#1 Post by **GunsNRosesChild** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:56 am

I am a 19 year-old, and I've just gotten braces the other day for a plan to fix my protruding lower jaw.

When I visited my first orthognathic surgeon for a consultation, he informed me that there is a risk of permanent loss of sensation on and around the tip of the middle of my lower lip. Since there is a nerve that goes through the bone of my lower jaw, the cutting, opening, and repositioning of that bone might damage the nerve in a way that it won't be able to grow back. I would still be able to move it just fine, but he said it would feel numb permanently.

This worried me so I asked him more about it, and he said that nationwide (USA) percentage of that happening is around 10%. This eased my worries for a while, I guess.

But I had to switch to another surgeon, since that one wasn't in my insurance group.

My new orthognathic surgeon was though. He was recommended by my orthodontist, since his own kid went there for upper and lower jaw surgery.

But during his consultation, he mentioned nothing about this risk of permanent numbness after looking at my x-rays and in my mouth. I guess I was still satisfied with the answer from my first surgeon. But the more I think about it, the more it worries me. I've felt that numbness in my lips from injections from my dentist, and it's quite uncomfortable. I don't think I can live with that feeling for my entire life. I also want to be able to feel everything when I kiss my girlfriend, but I guess that's a bit selfish of me.

Sorry for the long read, but I wanted to give all the info. So my question is, should I be worried about this risk at all? Has anyone ever experienced it after lower jaw surgery?

Thanks.

#2 Post by **nahky** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 4:09 am

had lower jaw surgery 2 weeks ago. and genioplasty. My lower lip was numb, and my chin area.

After 2 weeks, it gets all tingly. and the feeling came back. At first, i could only feel the surface of the skin, then slowly, the feeling gets deeper.

My Surgeon mentioned this, but he said i was young and healthy, so there is minimal risk to me. Im 18.

Hope this helps... don't fret too much, it'll be ok.

#3 Post by **saabdel** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:35 pm

hey ,
i had my jaw surgery done on both jaws about 25 days ago, and i only lost feeling on my lower left side of my lip and chinm, but now it seems like it s coming back and it feels almost normal.
you really shoulnt worry especially if you have a good doctor.

good luck

#4 Post by **nvcarissa** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:29 pm

My surgeon told me he liked the x-rays of my jaw. That is, he didn't see any problems or potential for problems. He did mention the temporary numbness that I might experience, but he was pretty sure I would be fine. He has lots of experience and I am sure he would tell me if he thought there could be issues.

Temporary numbness is common, permanent numbness not so much, but they have to tell you everything. It's called "informed consent." Having gone through surgery before, the real scary time is when the anesthesiologist has to give you the run down. Oy

#5 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:47 pm

Hey Gunsnroses,
I am supposed to have surgery too and I am worried about the numbness, especially because I play a wind instrument. My orthodontist said the risk is 10-15%. I work with a person who had jaw surgery three years ago and she is numb and has that "pins and needles" feeling. It hasn't gone away after three years!!

I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place (or numb place?)

When is your surgery supposed to happen?

#6 Post by **katevv** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:12 pm

I am 1yr 2mths post op and still have only faint feeling in my lower lip and sides of mouth,its almost like a "tight/heavy" sensation.

It does improve at times like when you lie down for some reason,when the area is under hot water??when you exercise,or just on certain days you get more feeling but it makes eating difficult and is generally uncomfortable.

My surgeon said 1-2 yrs to come back,I really hope he is right.

i Had my wisdoms out and the numbness from that took about 7 mths to return.

#7 Post by **katevv** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:16 pm

ohmyjaw wrote: My orthodontist said the risk is 10-15%. I work with a person who had jaw surgery three years ago and she is numb and has that "pins and needles" feeling. It hasn't gone away after three years!!

I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place (or numb place?)

When is your surgery supposed to happen?

my surgeon said a 40% chance but I cant recall if he meant just in nerve damage or permanent nerve damage.

Also i started getting tingling sensations from day one post op and thought i would definately have full feeling by now.

#8 Post by **antharrison** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:23 pm

hey everyone, this is my first post on this board.
i had lower jaw surgery only yesterday to correct my overbite and have completely no feeling in my chin and lower lip, i know its too early to tell if it will recover because im still pretty swollen but i cant help feeling a bit scared, especially after reading some people never got their feeling back!
are there any physio exercise techniques or anything atall that could encourage the nerve regrowth for a quick recovery?
thanks

#9 Post by **smile2006** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:30 pm

I had upper, lower and genioplasty on July 13 and still have numbness in my lower lip and chin. It is gradually getting better. It's like a circle around my chin that keeps decreasing in diameter. My lower lip s much better and the bulk is in the tip of the chin. I'm always more numb in the morning and unfortunately (since I race bicycles) the numbness worsens with a hard ride or interval workout. I do think my situation is more genio than the lower jaw surgery. Every case is different but it seems like most people here do regain feeling. I'm not panicing yet. Age, lifestyle and surgeon's skill are all related to the ultimate outcome relative to feeling!

#10 Post by **antharrison** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:39 am

hello meryaten and smile 2006, thanks for your help and advice! its been 2 days now since the op and every now and again i can feel a slight tingling sensation in my chin, which im guessing is a good sign!
ive read quite a few of the posts on this forum now and realise that only time will tell with the recovery, and as you said its still early days for me right now, so im just going to get some rest!
thanks again and speak to you soon

#11 Post by **GunsNRosesChild** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:19 am

I apologize for the inactivity. I transferred to a university shortly after and didn't have time to reply.

I'm not very concerned about this issue. After reading all the replies, it seems very unlikely that I will have permanent loss of sensation.

I know it's still a factor, though. I don't mind lossing feeling in a very small area, the only thing that I'm worried about now is the permanent "pins and needles" sensation. But after thinking about it, the risk is very small compared to the benefits.

ohmyjaw,
I think my surgery will be some time late this year. It was suppose to be this month. But after my surgeon reviewed the position of my teeth, he called my orthodontist and said there are still teeth that need to be properly aligned before he can perform the surgery. I'm not exactly sure which teeth he meant, since he said a bunch of medical jargon. I would've stayed to ask him questions about it, but I had class soon and had to leave.

My worries about this are further reduced thanks to my oral surgeon. He's supposedly one of the best and is on the forefront of developing safe procedures for oral surgery. So I feel very fortunate to have him.

Dr. Joel S. Berger, DDS, MD (http://www.acertainsmile.com/bio_Berger.asp) if anyone recognizes him.

I'll report back after talking to him again, and hopefully after my surgery.

#12 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:41 pm

Many people after BSSO have some type of residual numbness. Not trying to scare you but this is one of the biggest risks with this surgery and one that I think many doctors seriously under report. You should ask your doctor about it. I have talked to 3 different people my surgeon has worked on and all have some numbness but nothing major. One girl has some very slight numbness running down her jawlines but nothing else (and she is only 6 months post op so she may still get it back) Another has a bit of a thick feeling in her chin but that is it, she too has full feeling in her lips. The other had surgery 15 years ago, prior to rigid fixation and she was wired shut. She has considerable numbness. Her whole bottom lip is numb as is the area from the edges of her lips down to her chin (like a triangle with the bottom of it being her lip)

My doctor said that there is a 20% chance of some type of residual numbness and that if he could eliminate that 20% he would dedicate his entire practice to nothing but jaw surgery. Unfortunately he said, we just never totally know until we get in there and do the surgery. He said that I needed to really think about it, that chances are my numbness would be minimal or even non existent, but that if I could not live with mild numbness then he would recommend not having this surgery done.

One other note, even if you have numbness you still have functionality of the lip and chin. The girl who can't feel her lip said it sorta bugged her at first, but now she is completely used to it and she doesn't even notice. She is still thrilled with her results and glad she had the surgery. She looks amazing and has nothing but great things to say about our doctor. So.....just stuff to think about, I think its criminal when people come out of surgery with no clue that they might have some long term numbness because no one discussed it with them and they didn't know the right questions to ask. There is some risk. Also....please remember that you are in the very low risk category if you are younger. Age does factor into all of this. You will heal faster, and better then many others if you are young.

My ortho wanted to do this when I was a kid, we couldn't afford it so it never happened. I'm glad because they have made so many advances in this area now, but I'm sad because now I'm having to go through all this when I'm older and it is not near as easy as it would've been had I been a kid. Good luck to you and I hope this answers your questions.

To everyone else.....sorry this is so long!

Brandy

#13 Post by **katemm06** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:12 pm

I agree with Brandy's comment that if someone has numbness for a longer period of time they most likely will get adjusted to it and not pay much attention to it. Seems like most people experience some kind of numbess after surgery but it doesn't seem to significantly impact the quality of peoples lives over the long term. Still, oral surgeons have a right to explain this to patients beforehand and I don't think they do a good job of it.

Although I have not had much change in my numbness, it really is not as big of a deal to me anymore. I can still do all the normal things (including kissing!) and most of the time I forget that I am even numb. I'm more careful with eating (making sure to use napkins a lot) but I don't deprive myself from any foods because I'm scared something will stick to my lip/chin. I do drool a little every now and then but I really think in time that problem will do away, seems to happen more when I'm looking down at something, like tying my shoe or shuffling papers. Maybe my mouth starts to open more at those times.

Good luck to you GunsNRosesChild (great band by the way)!