i havent been wired or obligated to have liquid diet. Why?

[brok3nwings]

So im almost one month post op (Monday is the one month anniversary).
i am still having some self.esteem issues but i think it is getting better

But for now my question is...
why do all people seam to be wired after surgery? i wasnt!
why do you all have to be on a liquid food? i was only for 3 days...after that soft food and after one week or two i could chew already think like chicken and cooked vegetables!

My surgeon told me to start eating normally almost right away, of course not steaks and stuff! i asked a friend of mine that is a dentist about this and he told me that probably its protocol depending on what country you live. I live in Portugal.

So what do you think?
or is it the method they use in the surgery that makes the difference in the post-op?

i had my upper jaw gone forward and up
i had my lower jaw gone forward and my chin gone forward too

my recovery has been amazing for what they tell me, and i think that could be from what i eat, i eat normally.

[charlsie142]

Every surgeon is different. I had upper and lower jaw surgery like you (no chin, though) and I'm in the US and I was never on just liquid diet nor was I ever wired shut. Lots of surgeons still require wiring and liquid diets, but I think the trend is moving away from wiring except in cases where a lot of movement is required. My surgeon wants his patients using their face muscles as soon as possible to speed up recovery. So, I was drinking from a cup and eating off a baby spoon the day after surgery. Plus, I could remove my bands for eating and brushing my teeth.

Honestly, I think this ability to eat pretty normally has helped with my quick recovery and probably has helped you, too! A lot of the time when patients are not doing very well, it's due to not eating enough to help them have enough energy to recover or do minimal activities. So we are some of the lucky ones as far as this goes.

Glad to hear you are recovering well, too!

[brok3nwings]

thank you so much for confirming what i believed in the first place.. i´ve also heard that wiring and liquid diet was before they improved the technic with the plates that doesnt allow micromovements! I believe we are lucky indeed cause having your mouth shut must be pretty hard to handle.. also the liquid diet. on the days i had to do liquid (first three days) i was feeling really weak and i was always telling my mom "im so hungry!!" ..i could not feel satisfied! Now i am back to normal, i think i even gained weight lol

[trish222]

I have to agree w/ charlsie142-begin eating as soon as possible. I had upper, lower and genio 11 months ago. I was banded shut and liquid diet for almost 2 months. I felt as though if I kept my jaw still that healing would be better-Nope! I am still undergoing physical therapy because my muscles atrophied. Continued sucess with your recovery