6 weeks til double jaw surgery

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jimmy
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:40 pm

6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#1 Post by jimmy »

42 days til surgery and I am counting them all. I can't wait. I wish it was tomorrow...

I'm 55 y/o man with braces that fortunately don't have to be on too long prior to double jaw surgery for sleep apnea. Well, it's not really sleep apnea. Upper airway resistance syndrome--my oxygen levels are good, I'm slim and fit, but I don't get much deep sleep because apparently my airway is about the size of a pencil. When my orthodontist saw the CT scans of my head he said I needed surgery tomorrow.

For about the last ten years I've been wearing a mandibular advancement device to help with sleep--I couldn't tolerate CPAP--but even moving the jaw forward didn't fix everything. Just made it bearable. I can't wear the jaw advancer with braces of course and so I'm back to being tired and cranky every day. That's why I'm counting the days. I can't wait to get through this and start waking up refreshed. At least that's what I'm hoping for :).

jimmy
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:40 pm

Re: 6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#2 Post by jimmy »

I also wanted to point out that this experience has shown me how little the medical community is aware of sleep/breathing problems and the host of issues they can cause. My own anatomical issues were caused partially by genetics and partially by a dentist pulling 4 teeth when I was about 13. My teeth were crowded. Today that would be solved by installing an expansion device in a young person's mouth, to assist the jaw in growing big enough to fit all the teeth, but back then they pulled the teeth so the jaw never got big enough.

For decades I have snored loudly, suffered from depression, neck and back pain, and fatigue, and no medical professional ever connected all the dots back to a small airway. Doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, sleep doctors, dentists-- none of them recognized that this one thing was likely the source of my medical complaints. (The neck and back pain come from thrusting the head forward to open up the airway rather than having good posture. If I stand up nice and straight I can't breath unless I let my lower jaw slide forward of my upper jaw.)

I would love to spread the word to people suffering from a similar group of issues that there might be a single physical cause.

snapdresser
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:31 am

Re: 6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#3 Post by snapdresser »

I’m super excited for you, Jimmy! I hope you get some relief from this surgery :D Do you know what surgeries and movements your surgeon is planning?
No braces
1-piece LeFort I + BSSO + Sliding Genio on 10 JUNE 2015!
Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
Image

jimmy
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:40 pm

Re: 6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#4 Post by jimmy »

Thanks--I'm getting the works: LeFort1, Sagittal split, genioglossus, septoplasty, turbinectomy

snapdresser
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:31 am

Re: 6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#5 Post by snapdresser »

Nice! Good luck! Please let us know how it goes!
No braces
1-piece LeFort I + BSSO + Sliding Genio on 10 JUNE 2015!
Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
Image

jimmy
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:40 pm

Re: 6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#6 Post by jimmy »

I just did the pre-op meeting. 2 weeks to go. The surgeon was on the fence about recommending inverted L, where the lower jawbone is cu through entirely and you need extra big screws and brackets to hold everything in place. The pros to that were less chance of permanent numbness and the mandible can be moved anywhere you want. But I'm paying out of pocket and it costs about $10k more. So instead he's going to move mandible the max he can using the more common BSSO surgery and then do a 3-4 mm genioplasty to move the tongue forward a bit more. The two combined should be about the same increase in airway size as the inverted L would have been.

snapdresser
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:31 am

Re: 6 weeks til double jaw surgery

#7 Post by snapdresser »

Sounds like you have a plan you’re happy with, which is great! Your surgery should be about now so good luck and heal up well!
No braces
1-piece LeFort I + BSSO + Sliding Genio on 10 JUNE 2015!
Partial hardware removal 14 SEP 2018
Image

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