BSSO ONLY!! Need some input please!!

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#1 Post by **I love my teeth** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:52 am

Finally, I had my OS consult last week, which was originally scheduled for July, but got pushed back----so here is how it went:

He is one of the best OS in the city, has been in practice for 25+years, on staff at a well known university, ect.........so I was confortable wiht his resume...........He looked in my mouth, said a bunch of umms, and ahhs, looked at xrays my OD sent over, checked my lower jaw range of motion (I am guessing??) and said BSSO only to correct my 9-11mm overjet (I think that is the proper term??)

We discussed the surgery--no wiring shut, plates and screwed with rubber bands, can start on a soft diet, not restricted to liquids. mild swelling (he uses some kind of antiswelling med through the IV, not sure what med it is), approx 10day recovery, then resume normal activities, ect, ect.

He made it sound like a root canal would be more difficult, he had confidence that made me feel like the whole thing was no more difficult than a tooth extraction.............He said he has done approx 9000 of these surgeries, references available upon request.

So, now I guess I really want to know, for those that have has BSSO only, what is the pain like, and what was your real recovery time??

Any input is welcome, because there is no turning back now!!

thanks

#2 Post by **Kerry** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:55 am

i had very little pain more swelling discomfort, i did however hate being banded shut i they did mine so tight i couldnt speak nor eat anything. i was on fluids i.e milkshakes for a week.

i would howverr suggest at least 2 weeks off work i pushed mine at three but glad i did as i look more normal now

#3 Post by **Tribal** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:21 am

The drug to help with the swelling is probably a steroid, although I'm not sure which specific one he would use. My surgeon does it too, and I didn't swell up too bad. I had Leforte and genio though, no BSSO.

#4 Post by **Kerry** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:54 am

i had an iv anti inflamatry it began with a T i wrote it down somewhere because when it was administered it sent a really horrid stinging sensation alost like being rubbed with pins to my private parts n bottom, i had that three times but on the third one they watered it down for me due to the reaction. they have never had that reaction before at my hospital so not sure why i suffered

#5 Post by **jordan82** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:59 am

i had BSSO only. They advanced my jaw 7 mm. I was on this site reading the week before and became terrified from all the horror stories. After the surgery I was talking pretty well. I was swollen for a few days but after a week I was looking pretty normal. Im 9 days post op now and I still have numbess in half my bottom lip and chin. It's not that bad though I do not drool or anything. All in all the pain is pretty minimal. Its a dull anoying pain really but the liquid T3 or whatever you get will take care of all the pain for you. I dont even take any pain medicine now. The worst part of it all to me is the elastics in your mouth make it impossible to put a spoonful of food in your mouth and not being able to lick my lips is a pain too. I am surprised at how easy the surgery had been for me and how fast the healing process is going. The first 3 days are the hardest and they are not really THAT hard.

#6 Post by **cyn** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:05 pm

I'm also from Vancouver, and it sounds like we may have the same surgeon (Dr. W?)

I'm 29 and I had my BSSO on June 5- to correct my underbite, and am probably 95% recovered now (almost 3 months after)
My surgery was scheduled for 8:40am - I arrived at 6:45am for pre-op papers, etc, and wheeled into the operating room at 8:40, woke up a little after 11, and walked out of the recovery room by 1:00pm. The surgery took about an hour.

Like you, I was a bit nervous that my surgeon did not make this surgery seem like too big of a deal, and everything was so straightforward, but in all honesty, everything came out as he had predicted.
I took 7 days off of work, and was able to drink out of a straw immediately, and eating soft foods the next day. I read tons of stories here on AW, and mentally I had prepared myself for the worst, but my whole experience was not bad at all - I'm not sure I just lucked out, or if it was due to my surgeon's skills.

#7 Post by **changes09** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:44 pm

Kerry wrote:i had an iv anti inflamatry it began with a T i wrote it down somewhere because when it was administered it sent a really horrid stinging sensation alost like being rubbed with pins to my private parts n bottom, i had that three times but on the third one they watered it down for me due to the reaction. they have never had that reaction before at my hospital so not sure why i suffered

OMG! The samw thing happened to me! I was so freakin scared! HAHAHA! I literally jumped up out of the bed!

#8 Post by **I love my teeth** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:07 pm

thanks for the replies, It's good to know he was probably telling me the truth!!

cyn- no actually this doc is Dr. McD, not Dr. W. What hospital were you at?? He told me probably Mt. St. Joseph's or UBC, more likely Mt. St. Josephs. What ortho?? I am on the North Shore, so mine is up here in West Van. Nice to find another Vancouverite on this site!!!!!!

#9 Post by **cyn** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:21 pm

I love my teeth- Dr. McD is also a very highly reputable surgeon - my friend had his BSSO done by him many many years ago, and had a similar experience as mine

My ortho is Dr. Smith - I'm using Invisalign so that's why I chose him, and he's also located in Richmond where I live.

The surgery was done at Surrey Memorial - my surgeon said that they are one of the few that do elective surgeries on an outpatient basis.

There have been a couple of other posts here from other Vancouverites - I read a lot on the ones posted by JayC as we both had the same surgeon - it's SO helpful to hear about other ppl's experiences especially those cases that you can relate to

I hope this helps in any way - - I totally know the feeling of being overwhelmed, but I hope you may find comfort in knowing that your surgeon has performed this surgery thousands of times, and a routine operation to him may not necessarily seem so to us, so getting scared it totally normal

Congrats for making the decision to go for it! Although I waited so many years to finally get it done, it's by far the best thing I ever did for myself

Big SMILES!!!

Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:07 am

Hi, I'm from Vancouver too! I just had a BSSO mandibular advancement (8mm) last Wednesday. It was done by Dr. R at MSJ. Recovery has been okay. Honestly, if it weren't for having to deal with my baby and two step-kids at the same time, it would have been much easier!

The first night in the hospital was awful, I woke up every 15 minutes. But I was able to use a straw and even drink out of a cup pretty much right away. Day 3 seemed to be my worst day, and by today (day 5) I actually went out and walked around the mall for a bit...although I felt like a freak with my big face and bruised neck.

I haven't had much pain. The most annoying thing is the numbness, and the fact that you can barely open your mouth to speak or consume anything thicker than broth or Boost. My elastics popped today so I was able to spoon in some yogurt. Woo hoo!

I was absolutely terrified of the recovery and it hasn't been as bad as I thought. Plus I'm very "mouth phobic" (I have a strong gag reflex and hate anything being done in my mouth), so if I can get through it, I'm sure you can too!

#11 Post by **Kerry** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:03 am

changes09 wrote:
Kerry wrote:i had an iv anti inflamatry it began with a T i wrote it down somewhere because when it was administered it sent a really horrid stinging sensation alost like being rubbed with pins to my private parts n bottom, i had that three times but on the third one they watered it down for me due to the reaction. they have never had that reaction before at my hospital so not sure why i suffered
OMG! The samw thing happened to me! I was so freakin scared! HAHAHA! I literally jumped up out of the bed!

god i thought i was the only one !! bloody horrible feeling made me cry !! thats was worse that the op its self lol. Aparently the nurse hadnt heard that happening before but i made sure she knew even if i was just wankign me arms around n making mumbling noises lol

#12 Post by **I love my teeth** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:34 am

wow!! All these Vancouverites!! Thanks for the input guys!! I also know 2 friends from the states who had it done and had similiar stories of a not so bad recovery!!

My biggest worry is we have no family here, I have 2 kids--my husband can take the first week off work, but not sure if I may need more help to get the kids back and forth to school and to and from their loads of after school stuff!! So, still in the planning stages for me----just got my braces on 3months ago, so, not looking until spring/fall of 2010 (trying to avoid the summer if possible