Bill's Post Surgery #2 (on 3 April 2007)

Message

#1 Post by **BillN** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:35 pm

Hey there. It's now been just over one week since my BSSO and genioplasty surgery and, with few exceptions, things are progressing nicely.

I'm maintaining a more detailed Blog which you can find in my signature below if you want to read up on the surgery / post-surgery in more detail.

The two below photos are of my *natural* bite at the time of the photo.

This first photo is two days before the surgery:

11 March 2007

This second is one week after being discharged from the hospital:

21 March 2007

I'm very pleased with the outcome of the surgery, especially this early in the post-surgery period. It truly is amazing what can be accomplished these days.

You may or may not be able to see it in the 21 March 2007 photo but my cheeks are still swollen a fair amount. I kinda wish they'd stay puffed out

I'm a bit concerned with my bite at this point though. After only one day without the elastics my bite has shifted back to the way it was immediately after the surgery / prior to the elastics being put on. The upper and lower midlines line up nicely as do all of the other teeth *except* for my molars on the right side (I can't tell which one(s) due to the swelling). I think one of the molars is still a bit out of alignment which is causing an open bite at the moment. If that molar were to be moved into the correct position I believe my bite would be exactly right. My concern is that the Surgeons may decide to put the elastics back ... not looking forward to that.

My next appointment is on Wednesday, 28 March although I've already called and left a message with the lead Surgeon to see if she wants me to come in before then.

-Bill
http://semper-braces.blogspot.com/

#2 Post by **science teacher** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:10 pm

I think you look GREAT!!!!
Kim

#3 Post by **Happysmiler** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:20 am

Excellent results! - I hope your recovery continues to go so smoothly.

Happysmiler

#4 Post by **BillN** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:28 pm

There's been a snag in the recovery process.

I went for my follow-up this morning and the Surgeons determined that the open bite caused by my surgery a couple of weeks ago can't be corrected with elastic bands or further work by the Orthodontist. They said that the most likely cause is "hardware failure" ... a problem with the titanium plate and/or screws. While I think that's possible I think it's just as likely that the Surgeon secured the titanium plates in the wrong position.

So, I now have another surgery date for Tuesday, 3 April 2007 and get to go through this whole process again. Yay me!!!

The Surgeons will be using the same incisions as before and will remove the current hardware, reposition the lower jaw, and then attach new hardware. The main differences this time is that the bones haven't had time yet to reattach fully so it'll be easier to dislocate the lower jaw and the chin augmentation surgery has already been done so I don't have to worry about that.

Now it's time for me to go grab a couple of Coronas and see if I can't figure out how to make myself a cheesecake milk shake.

-Bill
http://semper-braces.blogspot.com

#5 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:53 pm

OMFG Bill! That SUCKS!:yikes:

Sorry to be so blunt, but I know you are a marine and I'm sure you probably hear much worse then that on a daily basis! LOL....

That is so wrong! I feel so bad for you! Here I am dreading my upcoming surgery, and you have to have yours done twice! Ughhh!

Hope everything goes well for you! Man.....how frustrating, I would be so upset! Do keep us posted on your progress though! I will be curious to see how the second round goes. You poor thing!

Brandy

#6 Post by **Happysmiler** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:50 pm

Oh No, that is just terrible bad luck Bill.

I really do feel for you.

You may never know if it is a 'hardware failure' or whether they have made a 'slight' mishap, however it needs to be corrected and that's all that counts right now.

Keep thinking positively, I would think that the repeat operation should be much simpler than the first as, like you say the bones have already been broken and it should be quite straightforward.

These things are sent to try us!

Keep yourself positive as I'm sure it helps with recovery.

Looking on the bright side, its probably only added a few weeks to the whole process (trying to be positive for you!!)

Best Wishes
Happysmiler

#7 Post by **BillN** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:50 pm

Thanks BrandyLeigh35, Meryaten, and Happysmiler.

I'm keeping a positive outlook on this whole thing. After all, I've already been through it once so I certainly know what I'm in for this time around. The surgeons will be able to use the same incision points as before and the jaw bones haven't started knitting together *much* at this early stage so the use of the power saw should be minimal. I also don't have to worry about the genioplasty because that's already done as well.

Really, I think it'll be a couple of more days swelling, a couple of more weeks on the blended / liquid diet, and a couple of more weeks off work

For those who still have surgery to look forward to ... please don't let my experience cause any undue pre-surgical stress. Hardware failure is an atypical event ... one that has a very small percentage chance of happening. Besides, I'm just unlucky when it comes to these kinds of things. Maybe one day I'll relate my root canal experience when the Dental Office lost power about half way through

-Bill
http://semper-braces.blogspot.com

#8 Post by **soulaghra** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 4:34 pm

You are amazing! I'm so sorry that you have to go through the surgery AGAIN, but really, your attitude about the entire situation is way admirable. Good luck!

#9 Post by **Delag** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:31 pm

When I read you update the words that came out of my mouth were more fitted to a Marine than a middle age housewife. My heart goes out to both you and you family for having to go through this twice. I think you have a great attitude and I hope I can be as positive when my disaster strikes. (Before you say anything, as of this date, everything that can go wrong has, so I am in a better place mentaly if I expect the worst

)

#10 Post by **science teacher** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 6:59 pm

DAmn the bad luck!!!!!
It's great to hear you so positive. Around here, I'd go to Dairy Queen and get a large cheesecake blizzard.

Kim

#11 Post by **BillN** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:31 pm

Okay, it's now 10 days post-surgery #2 where the Surgeons performed a revision to the BSSO that I had on 13 March 2007. This time around they went back in and removed the titanium plates and screws, rotated the lower jaw a couple of more millimeters to the right, moved the jaw forward a millimeter or two, contoured a couple of the molars, and then reattached the titanium plates and screws. Fortunately they didn't need to mess with the genioplasty this time around.

The physical recovery was much like the first with the exception that there was more swelling this time around. I'm guessing that was due to the residual swelling from the first surgery three weeks prior. Luckily I still had my Zip-N-Squeeze bags and jaw bras

The psychological aspect of the recovery process was a bit tougher this time because I knew that, because of the second surgery, I was going to have an additional three weeks added on to my recovery period ... three weeks of blended / liquid diets, sleeping issues, et cetera. Of course, balancing all that out was the fact that I had an additional two weeks off work

Here's an updated photo (taken this afternoon - 10 days post-surgery #2):

Overall I'm very pleased with the results of the second surgery. I was tightly banded for the first week post surgery and am now in 1/4" medium guiding elastics. The upper and lower midlines are aligned perfectly (to my eye anyway) and there has been zero movement over the past three days (when I started with the guiding elastics). My next appointment is on Monday (16 April) and I'm hoping they tell me I can start wearing the elastics only at night.

Now, a few questions for all the other post-surgery folks:

-How long did you sleep in a reclined position?
-If you're a "side-sleeper", how soon after surgery was it before you were able to resume sleeping on your side?
-How long was it before you were able to transition from a purely blended/liquid diet to a soft-chew diet?
-How soon after surgery was it before you were able to start physical therapy / stretching your jaw muscles?

I know that each case is different and that there are as many different paths to recovery as there are Oral Surgeons. I'm just trying to get a feel for what I can expect.

-Bill
http://semper-braces.blogspot.com[/img]

#12 Post by **Graceful58** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:18 am

Wow Bill you've been through quite a bit in such a short time, but the results are looking really great! Hopefully you'll heal up quickly and those elastics will be coming off soon! I think you're results are awesome, can't wait to see how you look a few weeks and months down the road!