Thank you bbsadmin. You're so right about the importance of getting the right people to work with you. Looking back (and hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing) we've never really felt happy with the orthodontist - he is a very cold, distant person. Listening to him and watching how he was relating to her the other day just confirmed to me the importance of professionals being assessed not only on their clinical skills but on their ability to communicate effectively and to take on board the emotional needs of their patients - actually I think he needs a psychological assessment!
But that conversation WILL be had with the right people in due course. And once we get all of this sorted for her (God willing) we will decide what we do about ensuring that our concerns are expressed to the right people in order that others do not have to experience what we've gone through to get to this point.
Do you know the ironic thing is that the only person who has acted with any integrity in all of this is the surgeon who botched things up - when I spoke to him way back, he was honest enough to admit that he knew why we would want and need a second opinion outside our region - he also stressed that we had to pursue this until we got a satisfactory outcome.
I've searched my own motives in all of this and I can honestly say that if these people had behaved reasonably and simply admitted that they didn't get it right, then we could accept that and move on towards a solution - everyone makes mistakes and there are risks with all surgeries. It is simply the lack of integrity and the total disregard for the impact this has had on my daughter that makes the whole thing so much more difficult to deal with. Quite frankly it could push a person over the edge if they hadn't the support she has had - my husband is a mental health professional and he has been working with her and helping her find strategies to deal with things. That, coupled with the fact that she knows we're on her side 100%, and also because she has a strong faith of her own, has enabled her to cope this far.
Anyway, thank you again for your concern and support - and MANY thanks for setting this resource up; it's amazing.
God bless, Jane xx
My daughter had double jaw surgery and it has all gone wrong!
Moderator: bbsadmin
Hello everyone...just a quick update...we've got a provisional date for my daughter's second surgery of 2nd week July. It's being done by a surgeon outside our region who was recommended by the professor we had the second opinion from. We're all very nervous, but feel that this is the right decision and are trusting and praying that she will soon be able to put all of this behind her and enjoy her life again.
Just an observation for those of you contemplating surgery...which you probably know in any case...you may have to learn to ignore the comments of ill-informed people about this type of surgery. We've had to come to terms with people (some of whom we thought we knew quite well) making insensitive statements like 'would she not learn to live with it?' or 'surely she wouldn't have a second surgery!' It can be very hurtful to be on the receivng end of throw away comments when you're already living a nightmare experience. But you learn a lot about human nature when you face things that are traumatic, and it teaches you how NOT to react to situations you know little about. I'll certainly think twice about making judgements about things I've not experienced myself.
Take care and God bless.
jane x
Just an observation for those of you contemplating surgery...which you probably know in any case...you may have to learn to ignore the comments of ill-informed people about this type of surgery. We've had to come to terms with people (some of whom we thought we knew quite well) making insensitive statements like 'would she not learn to live with it?' or 'surely she wouldn't have a second surgery!' It can be very hurtful to be on the receivng end of throw away comments when you're already living a nightmare experience. But you learn a lot about human nature when you face things that are traumatic, and it teaches you how NOT to react to situations you know little about. I'll certainly think twice about making judgements about things I've not experienced myself.
Take care and God bless.
jane x
Hi carcan...thanks for asking and yes she is doing ok, although she does get down at times. She's just trying to keep herself busy with university work, and at the minute is trying to re-organise the dates for her year abroad as the timing of the second surgery will mean she won't be able to do what she had planned, as she'll need to be in the country to make sure all is well and to finalise the treatment, etc. But, the main priority is to get this sorted out and then she can move on with things, God willing. Take care, God bless Jane x
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blindboarder2008
- Posts: 943
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 8:43 pm
- Location: in a house that has 4 walls, with lots of rooms!!! in Canada!
I have my fingers crossed for you and your daughter that the second surgery will be better:)!!!!
Braced: March 19th 2008
Impacted wisdom teeth extraction surgery: June 20th 2008 1pm (13 hours of fasting)
Jaw surgery (upper and lower)Lefort 1 with Madable Advancement: June 2nd 2009 @8am!!!! 1 surgery down 2 surgeries to go!!
debrace day: jan 18th 2010!!!! *has 2 fixed retainers and an essix retainer for night time now!
Impacted wisdom teeth extraction surgery: June 20th 2008 1pm (13 hours of fasting)
Jaw surgery (upper and lower)Lefort 1 with Madable Advancement: June 2nd 2009 @8am!!!! 1 surgery down 2 surgeries to go!!
debrace day: jan 18th 2010!!!! *has 2 fixed retainers and an essix retainer for night time now!
Just wanted to let people know that my daughter had her final planning appointment today with the surgeon and it went very well. He told her that he is confident he can achieve the outcome that was intended first time round and said the movements he will be making to the top and bottom jaw are well within the normal range. We had been led to believe by the first team that the movements required to address the issues they left her with would be so fine it would be very difficult to achieve. In actual fact, the bottom jaw will be moved back 4mm and the top jaw moved up 3mm - the surgeon will also adjust her midline - top teeth are off centre to the left and the bottom teeth are off centre to right. He also said that he noticed her nose had changed shape as a result of the surgery and he would put a stich in this time - I've heard of this before - but obviously it wasn't done first time - he definitely knows his job and today just confirmed to us how many mistakes were made first time round. Anyway - we are where we are and we are just so blessed to have found this new surgeon. She has the surgery on Wednesday, so I will let you all know how things go - it's a very stressful time but we all feel we can trust this surgeon and so we leave both him and her in God's hands. God bless - Jane xx
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sauerkraut
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
- Location: Germany
Jane - wow, what an ordeal you and your family have been through. I can somewhat relate. After my lower jaw surgery, I still have lip incompetence along with some other issues. My orthodontist said, well the good thing is as you age, your upper lip becomes longer. That just kills me! I told him, yeah - but I really didn't want to wait until I was 62 yrs old for my lips to meet. I'm lucky that my teeth and bite look great - and nobody really notices my lip thing but me; however, it is something that my surgeon should have taken into account. I'm meeting with another oral surgeon in a few weeks before my braces are taken off to decide if I want to undergo another surgery which would involve my upper jaw and re-doing my lower.
I would tell anyone getting jaw surgery to get at least two opinions before proceeding. I wish I had.
I will pray that all goes well for your daughter Wednesday.
I would tell anyone getting jaw surgery to get at least two opinions before proceeding. I wish I had.
I will pray that all goes well for your daughter Wednesday.
How much lip incompetence do you still have though? I had upper and lower and I still have the tiniest bit of incompetence. However, my surgery was only 3 weeks ago and I have noticed it gets better as time goes on. I can close my lips comfortably and keep them closed, which was practically a work out before surgery. I am also hoping that after a few more months and once my braces come off, there won't be any incompetence.kahootz wrote:Jane - wow, what an ordeal you and your family have been through. I can somewhat relate. After my lower jaw surgery, I still have lip incompetence along with some other issues. My orthodontist said, well the good thing is as you age, your upper lip becomes longer. That just kills me! I told him, yeah - but I really didn't want to wait until I was 62 yrs old for my lips to meet. I'm lucky that my teeth and bite look great - and nobody really notices my lip thing but me; however, it is something that my surgeon should have taken into account. I'm meeting with another oral surgeon in a few weeks before my braces are taken off to decide if I want to undergo another surgery which would involve my upper jaw and re-doing my lower.
I would tell anyone getting jaw surgery to get at least two opinions before proceeding. I wish I had.
I will pray that all goes well for your daughter Wednesday.
Braces first time 12/96-11/99
Braces second time 12/08-10/09
BSSO & Le Fort I 6/15!
Unwired, in elastics, and on soft foods 6/26!!!
Orthodontic elastics 7/21-8/11
Braces off... OCTOBER 2ND, 2009!
Braces second time 12/08-10/09
BSSO & Le Fort I 6/15!
Unwired, in elastics, and on soft foods 6/26!!!
Orthodontic elastics 7/21-8/11
Braces off... OCTOBER 2ND, 2009!
I probably have like a 1/4" strain I guess. Enough where I have to make a conscious effort to close them and at night while I'm sleeping - forget about it! Since I am trying to correct my tongue thrust (that got me here to begin with), I notice that it is really hard to correct without the correct lip position. I most likely should have had the Lefort surgery you had. My lip looking sideways is more flat instead of flaring out, which I'm told could have been corrected through upper jaw surgery. I did not have a gummy or open bite, so I guess I would take the chance of covering more of my teeth - I don't know. It will be interesting to see what the oral surgeon says on a consultation I have coming up next week. He would probably have to do a lot of convincing though for me to risk more nerve damage on my lower jaw. My surgery was 10 mo's ago by the way, so I know it's not going to correct itself although the OS who did my lower jaw kept telling me month after month "Just give it time...give it time." You are pretty fresh out of surgery and probably still have some swelling.
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sarpevictim
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:50 am
Jane, I just got to reading this thread and the story of your daughter. I am so shocked by the way you have been treated by so-called professionals. Undergoing surgery once is not easy, to have to do it again because someone messed up is ridiculous.
I have a few questions though. Did they cut her bottom jaw and wind up not moving it or did they not cut or move it? Because if they cut it, but did not move it, yet they achieved a good bite, then someone did not do their hw during the planning stage. That's like cutting into a stomach for heart surgery...plain unnecessary and I don't know what the laws are where you live but I think you may be entitled for damages.
Please continue to keep us updated as we'd like to hear that your new surgeon is able to correct the mistakes made and that your daughter is happy with the result.
I have a few questions though. Did they cut her bottom jaw and wind up not moving it or did they not cut or move it? Because if they cut it, but did not move it, yet they achieved a good bite, then someone did not do their hw during the planning stage. That's like cutting into a stomach for heart surgery...plain unnecessary and I don't know what the laws are where you live but I think you may be entitled for damages.
Please continue to keep us updated as we'd like to hear that your new surgeon is able to correct the mistakes made and that your daughter is happy with the result.
Thank you all for your interest, prayers and good wishes. I've only just today got access to the internet, because are staying for a month in another part of the country where she had her surgery - so she can be near the hospital and have all of the follow up appointments which she didn't have last time round.
So, my wonderful daughter is through her surgery - thank God - what a long day it was on 8th July. About 5 hours in surgery and then in intensive care unit for 24 hours. The surgeon told us he had planned 3 options depending on what he found when he opened her up, and what he could achieve. (What an amazing man - the difference between last time and this is like day and night)
Well, he was able to perform his first preferred option - isn't that wonderful - just so wonderful! He was very pleased with how it went and he was able to perform the intended movements to 'BOTH' jaws. The only thing he said that might have implications for the outcome is that there was quite a bit of scar tissue from first surgery. However, one of the problems she was left with following the last surgery was a very long gap between her nose and upper lip and he said that moving the upper jaw up would help address this and that the scar tissue might even work in her favour in terms of tightening the upper lip area upwards if anything. We just pray it will all work out.
The swelling on the second day post surgery was quite frankly 'shocking' - I don't know how her skin was able to take the pressure to be honest. But thank God the steroids she was given, and anti-inflamatories she is now taking are doing their job and it has lessened - today is 4 days post op and we see a marked improvement.
She didn't have any anti-inflamatories last time so we do see a difference this time round.
It's too early to say how successful the second surgery has been, but we are now confident we have done EVERYTHING we can to achieve the intended outcome and we now have peace of mind to leave her recovery in God's hands.
She is doing everything possible for a speedy recovery - sleeping upright, walking a little, eating liquidised food, and taking all of the medication she has been given. But, If there is anything else anyone can suggest, please do as we will gladly try anything to ensure she recovers quickly.[/b]
I hope I can report before too long that she is smiling again after all this time - that is my prayer just to see her smiling and at peace with herself.
With good wishes to all of you - God bless
Janexx
So, my wonderful daughter is through her surgery - thank God - what a long day it was on 8th July. About 5 hours in surgery and then in intensive care unit for 24 hours. The surgeon told us he had planned 3 options depending on what he found when he opened her up, and what he could achieve. (What an amazing man - the difference between last time and this is like day and night)
Well, he was able to perform his first preferred option - isn't that wonderful - just so wonderful! He was very pleased with how it went and he was able to perform the intended movements to 'BOTH' jaws. The only thing he said that might have implications for the outcome is that there was quite a bit of scar tissue from first surgery. However, one of the problems she was left with following the last surgery was a very long gap between her nose and upper lip and he said that moving the upper jaw up would help address this and that the scar tissue might even work in her favour in terms of tightening the upper lip area upwards if anything. We just pray it will all work out.
The swelling on the second day post surgery was quite frankly 'shocking' - I don't know how her skin was able to take the pressure to be honest. But thank God the steroids she was given, and anti-inflamatories she is now taking are doing their job and it has lessened - today is 4 days post op and we see a marked improvement.
She didn't have any anti-inflamatories last time so we do see a difference this time round. It's too early to say how successful the second surgery has been, but we are now confident we have done EVERYTHING we can to achieve the intended outcome and we now have peace of mind to leave her recovery in God's hands.
She is doing everything possible for a speedy recovery - sleeping upright, walking a little, eating liquidised food, and taking all of the medication she has been given. But, If there is anything else anyone can suggest, please do as we will gladly try anything to ensure she recovers quickly.[/b]
I hope I can report before too long that she is smiling again after all this time - that is my prayer just to see her smiling and at peace with herself.
With good wishes to all of you - God bless
Janexx