Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy Next week, Not wired shut

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#1 Post by **megankaz** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 7:28 am

So I went in for the final consult with the surgeon yesterday and he told me that I will NOT be wired shut after the surgery. Is these common? He told me that I would still be on a liquid diet on Week 1, Week 2 will be smooth, super soft foods, and week 3 soft and chewy foods, etc. I'm a bit surprised that I'm not going to be banded shut at least.... WELL, I haven't had the surgical hooks put on yet-- and many the orthodontist is going to give me bands? Has anyone else had this without being banded shut?

#2 Post by **AF104** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 8:15 am

Wiring isn't very common these days. If you weren't going to be banded shut though there would be no purpose for surgical hooks. The orthodontist doesn't give the bands for the surgical hooks. The surgeon adds them right after the operation.

#3 Post by **tazzle** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 8:18 am

i think that fewer surgeons WIRE shut these days..... most seem to band with elastics .

I was extremely fortunate in that the initially the surgeone did such a great job the jaw is stayuing just where it shoul .... but I also have a different sort of splint kinda like a partial denture as ai have spaces on the bottom ... that all helps things stay more in position .. its bulky though !!!!

If you are getting hooks on the orthodontist will do it on your last visit pre op.

when is the op planned for ?

#4 Post by **megankaz** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:49 am

I'm going in for the surigical hooks tomorrow! Talking to the surgeon yesterday made it seem like this is going to be a piece of cake... I'm not so sure with all of the research that I've done. Were you guys literally on liquid for weeks? DId you guys lose a lot of weight? I don't have much to lost in the first place...

#5 Post by **HokieTay** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:46 pm

I am on week 2... WIRED SHUT. I have been on a liquid diet and it was HELL the first week. HELL. I would say that and being wired shut have been the only bad parts of the whole experience. Well, and the day in the hospital, but that seems to be typical.

The first week I could barely get anything down, nor did I want to. I didn't get sick or anything; I just wasn't hungry and the syringe made things sooo hard. Today, I discovered I can drink out of things with small openings though, which is helping immensely.

I didn't have much weight to lose... I was around 120 at 5'3 and now I am around 110. I had a good amount of muscle mass though... I'd say I put on 5 lbs of muscle during the months leading up to surgery. It's not good, but nothing I can do about it. All my clothes are falling off!

#6 Post by PJ » Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:59 pm

I had BSSO and Lefort 1 and was not wired shut. I had kobiashi wires--rather than those harder surgical hooks--placed by my OD prior to surgery. When I woke from surgery there were no bands at all holding me shut, but the next day I got 2 bands--not that heavy, and easily removable--just to help keep the bite in place, I guess. Since that time, I have seen my OD twice and he has, each time, changed the number, strength and configuration of my bands, but they are all easily removable for eating. I was allowed soft food--such as oatmeal and applesauce just about right away, and then stuff like spaghettios the second week and then semi-soft stuff the week after that. I was told to wait 10 weeks before trying hard stuff--like apples or pizza crusts, but I can't eat those with my braces anyway.

#7 Post by **megankaz** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 2:12 pm

PJ- your situation sounds so familiar to mine. Did the Orthodontist give you the bands to use?

#8 Post by **Folk Ballad** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 3:01 pm

I had BSSO about a month ago now and wasn't wired shut.
I was heavily banded and had a splint between my teeth for the first week and a half and then the splint was taken out and most of the bands were taken out except one on each side. Now even those are gone.
I was on a liquid diet for the first week so I ate things like carnation instant breakfast, soup broth, etc. Once the splint came out, I pretty much ate anything that was small enough and soft enough to eat. (Small because I couldn't open my mouth very wide and soft because I wasn't supposed to chew anything.) So I started eating 'real' food two weeks post op. Things like pancakes, scrambled eggs, bananas, strawberries, pasta, cooks, even potato chips.

#9 Post by PJ » Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:22 pm

The bands I got the day after surgery came from the surgeon.

#10 Post by **plate** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:24 am

megankaz wrote:I'm going in for the surigical hooks tomorrow! Talking to the surgeon yesterday made it seem like this is going to be a piece of cake... I'm not so sure with all of the research that I've done. Were you guys literally on liquid for weeks? DId you guys lose a lot of weight? I don't have much to lost in the first place...

I was on solely liquid diet for 6 days because of the rubber bands shutting me up and I lost nearly 5 kg, dropping 2 pant sizes! pretty upset losing my butt

but i'm sure you will get it back in a snap when you can eat with all the food cravings! my surgeon didnt talk a lot about the surgery too, and I think they're trying not to freak you out with too much details. Believe me, you dont really want to know so much

#11 Post by **archangel689** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:14 pm

I had a bsso monday and I just ate 3 scrambled eggs.

#12 Post by **megankaz** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:19 am

All- I'm headed in for the hospital in 2 hours for this surgery. And, I'm feeling totally unprepared. I will be back on this week and let you know how it all went.

#13 Post by PJ » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:59 am

Good luck!!

#14 Post by **megankaz** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:46 am

Back home-- swollen as hell and am WIRED SHUT

I'm currently writing a surgery report and will post pics soon. OMG, this suuuuuuuuuuuucks.

#15 Post by **tazzle** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 1:56 pm

sorry it didn't go as planned..... sometimes it works "in favour" like me.... sometimes not .... it must just depend on how well the jaw sits in position by itself once its split and the screws are in.

I think if I did not have such a good splint i would have at least been banded ..... the splint is pretty huge though and four weeks on i still have babyspoon smashed up food and a fair bit of jaw ache as the muscles still being stretched. maybe if they ahd support they would not ache so much .... who knows, swings and roundabouts ?

we are all different thats for sure and planned stuff not always a certain.... as long as its the best thing to keep your jaw where it should be.

the only thing i can say is put as much calories into liquid format ..... instead of clear broths stuff with cream ( unless surgeon says no dairy as some might ?????) ..... almost anything can be pureed up with loads gravy for example .... I work sometimes with people who can t ever have chewable stuff so they have to have meals as normal as possible all the time.

hope your pain/swelling etc is ok