Double Jaw Surgery Gunson

[Dblejawsurgery]

Hi guys! This website helped me soo much before my surgery that I decided to give back. A little background, I’ve had braces since as long as I can remember. I used to suck my thumb and my mom thought it was real cute until my upper jaw was all the way out of my face. As a result I had some sort of machinery in my mouth since second grade. Finally had braced in Fourth all the way through ninth grade. I also had to have teeth removed to make space for my jaw to go back into my face. Anyways, a couple of years ago I noticed my teeth weren’t aligned and it bugged me so I went to an ortho, as a grown up. He told me that what I needed was actually jaw surgery. I started researching, set up an appointment with Dr. Gunson, was blown away by the cost. I started looking for alternatives, went to a couple consultations. But the more I researched the surgery the more I made up my mind that Dr. Gunson should perform it. I wore braces for 2 years and finally had my surgery this January.

So feel free to ask me any questions, just looking to give back! This forum helped me sooooo much in the beginning, like literally just looking for a surgeon. So let me know!

[zebrafell]

Hey there. Thanks for helping out!
I am also considering having surgery with Gunson, however, I live in Europe. Currently waiting for my online consult.
Some questions:
- Why did you ultimately go with him?
- Do you know by any chance how much double jaw surgery would cost if it's entirely out of pocket?

[Alicat1975]

I had a consult with Gunson yesterday. I’ve been to over 10 oral surgeons and each one seems to have a different opinion. I had lower jaw surgery in 1999 which failed shortly after now I’m dealing with joint pain and sleep apnea. What made you choose Gunson? The hardest part for me is figuring out how to deal with the cost.

[Dblejawsurgery]

[quote=zebrafell post_id=506696 time=1548989716 user_id=32638]
Hey there. Thanks for helping out!
I am also considering having surgery with Gunson, however, I live in Europe. Currently waiting for my online consult.
Some questions:
- Why did you ultimately go with him?
- Do you know by any chance how much double jaw surgery would cost if it's entirely out of pocket?
[/quote]

Honestly, I depended almost entirely on these blogs to land on a couple of surgeons and then went through the list and looked for before and afters, complaints, and such. I liked the aesthetic from his previous patients and went in for a consult and basically left that consult completely mesmerized by how damn organized and efficient everything was. That consult convinced me that he was the surgeon for me.

As you will know by now, he doesn’t take insurance so his surgeon fees are entirely out of pocket, however the hospital is in network and I haven’t received my bill explaining how much that will be. But I’m sure the office will more than likely let you know about how much you are looking at.

[Dblejawsurgery]

[quote=Alicat1975 post_id=506872 time=1550845805 user_id=32660]
I had a consult with Gunson yesterday. I’ve been to over 10 oral surgeons and each one seems to have a different opinion. I had lower jaw surgery in 1999 which failed shortly after now I’m dealing with joint pain and sleep apnea. What made you choose Gunson? The hardest part for me is figuring out how to deal with the cost.
[/quote]


The main reason that I ended up going with him was that every other doctor that I mentioned him too, knew about him and only had positive things to say. Plus I was beyond impressed with his consult and I really liked his aesthetic. I can honestly say that this was the best decision ever. Was surgery hard? I don’t know, I was asleep. Was recovery a complain? telephone. It’s still is. I’m still on a blended diet. But I was sent home with a VERY detailed instruction package down to the hour of everything that was expected from me on a daily basis. The first two weeks I saw him twice a week and every week after that. His office staff has gone above and beyond for me and that in itself should tell you something, they are ALWAYS reachable. I can’t even
begin to explain the peace of mind that provides you with when you are dealing with such a big surgery. My nerves are slowly but surely coming back, I’m only missing half of my lower lip and half of my chin, everything else is here again.

I haven’t had surgery before but I’ve read terror stories about other “famous” doctors out there, believe me I did the legwork. One month before surgery I was still researching other doctors and found two “new” ones in these blogs, but they didn’t tempt me enough to explore it further.

[Dblejawsurgery]

By the way to be fair, the cost is a VERY hard pill to swallow. That was something I had to figure out and make my peace with. My bottom line was that this would impact not only my aesthetic but the functionality of my face for the rest of my life. I decided that it was worth the effort and sacrifice to get one of the top surgeons to work on me. Though I 100% understand that this may not be an option for everybody.

Would you mind explaining why your past surgery failed?

[Alicat1975]

Two years after my surgery, my lower jaw was back in the previous position if not a little worse. I was a braces at 9 with headgear followed by another full set and then one more when I had my surgery. The opinion was that it was due to condylar resorption. I also saw Dr. Piper for a consult 2 years ago. His opinion was that the resorption was due to a childhood accident. His treatment plan included fat grafting in the joints which really didn’t solve all of my issues. My airway at it’s smallest is 39mm.
It didn’t seem like a good idea to me so I continued to search and found Gunson. I’ve since been trying to find a local ortho who will work with him, but it has been so much harder than I expected.