wired shut can u share with me

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#1 Post by **enigma** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:46 am

Just asking as im too impatient to wait to ask surgeon lol
Im due to have upper and lower surgery early jan.
In your experience does this mean i will be wired shut (thats fine if i am)
Silly question then when will i be able to talk? im abit confused by what happens after surgery when your wired shut can people share their experiences with me. Im finding it a little hard to picture how it will be for me to be wired shut lol thank you everyone xxx

#2 Post by **Esoteric** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:35 am

It really depends on your surgeon, some wire shut while others use screws, plates and rubber bands. Both ways usually involve a splint but the latter way only has a splint in for a couple weeks, while the first way keeps it in for 6 or more. I had upper, lower, and genio.

I was completely wired shut with a splint for 6.5 weeks. You can't talk well at all and you have to eat through a syringe and a catheter. Does it suck, yes. Was it worth it, so far yes. I got unwired last week and it has been great so far. I have to wear two light rubber bands at different intervals for 5 more weeks but I don't have any pain at all. The only thing that I have experienced is soreness when I eat because my muscles have pretty much atrophied and forgot what they're supposed to do. Those will come back in time though so I'm not worried.

#3 Post by PJ » Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:15 am

I just want to say that I had upper and lower jaw surgery, but did not have a splint--I am pretty you will only have a splint if a cut is made to widen the upper jaw. I was not wired shut. I don't know that it is really necessary these days, but many surgeons still do it.

#4 Post by **vtmike1283** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:01 am

I also didn't have a splint. I have plates and screws. It involves a cut on each side of the face kind of below the ear. I believe you get one stitch each for this and there really isn't any scarring.

I got some rubber bands attached to my surgical hooks to hold the bottom and top jaw together. I remove these when I eat and my ortho told me I can wear them less and less each week.

Still can't open my mouth very wide.

My surgery was 10/22 for reference.

#5 Post by **Esoteric** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:38 am

It's interesting how everyone has a different experience. I was un wired late last week and can open pretty far now and eat quite a bit of stuff. I was even eating a kit kat candy bar today and that was great.

All of my cuts were in done inside the mouth, and for reference my procedure was calle Intraoral Verticle Ramus Osteotomy, along with impaction of the maxilla and a sliding genio. I have had zero pain through the whole thing. The most bothersome thing to me was the actual time in the splint but for the results that I got and the comfort of knowing the chances of numbness and relapse were pretty much nil, it was worth it.

#6 Post by **projo198** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:49 am

More than likely you will be "banded" shut and not wired. This allows the doc to steadily increase the amount you can open your mouth while still ensuring your jaw heals where it needs to.

As for talking, I had my 6 week appt yesterday and got my badns and splint out. STILL talking poorly, although slobbering and spitting much less. The difference is I can tell I should catch up quickly, my speech and eating has already improved greatly within the last 24 hrs.

Gotta be ready for turkey day!