Hi!
I am quickly approaching a surgery date of July 25, 2011. I am scheduled for an IVRO (intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy). I am one of the "lucky" ones that just needs my jaw moved backwards. All of my pre-surgical appointments are scheduled and now I am just waiting.
I'm one of the older patients! I'm 35, mother of a 3 yr old, live in Washington DC and luckily work in the dental field. It definitely pays off in more ways than one to have contacts and colleagues doing the work for you.
I am a bit anxious about my surgery, but, I know it will be done and over with before I know it.
Just wanted to say a HELLO and any pre-surgical advice would be great. That's why I am here
leeann001 wrote:... I'm one of the older patients! I'm 35, mother of a 3 yr old, live in Washington DC and luckily work in the dental field. It definitely pays off in more ways than one to have contacts and colleagues doing the work for you...
We have a "geezer" thread with people who are actually in their 40s.
Spend time reading these posts to give you a feel for what you can expect. It shouldn't put you off, just give you a realistic picture. It really helped me a lot and still does.
Stock up on soups and foods that can easily be blended. Drinks too. And tissues!
Figure that you'll be out-of-action for the first week, so you'll need to arrange someone to look after your child for a few days.
I'm sure there's lots more to discover on here - best of luck and 'see' you again online.
I'm sure you're excited that your surgery date is quickly approaching! I'm at day 34 post-surgery on my lower jaw, and this is my second surgery. (The first was a year and a half ago.)
You'll probably get lots of tips, but the biggest godsends for me have been:
- Vaseline (or some other kind of heavy-duty salve) for my lips
- "milkshake" straws (they're extra-wide so it's easier to suck down thicker liquids, like soups and smoothies)
- Smooth Move (or some other kind of herbal laxative to help keep things moving post surgery and during such a limited diet)
I have to say, too, that I don't know how I'd live without my VitaMix blender. If you don't already have one and don't think you'd use one after your whole jaw ordeal is over, then I suppose I wouldn't spend the money on it. But if you regularly make smoothies and shakes anyway, I would totally recommend investing in one. No other blender gets the liquids smooth enough that I can actually eat them. I've tried going out to eat a couple times now, and even if you ask them to blend a soup, the little chunks get stuck in my braces and bands and it's impossible to eat.
Finally, although you're a busy mom, you might want to figure out what will keep you happy and keep your mind off recovery. I definitely don't recommend this for everyone, but in an oddly masochistic way, the thing that is keeping me happily busy is COOKING! It's crazy because I can't even taste anything I make to make sure it's right, but just being around the food, having the house smell warm and comforting, and creating healthy meals for my husband is keeping me happy. I've been glued to the Food Network, and it keeps me inspired without depressing me, somehow.
I'm having an IVRO too pretty close to the same time as you (August 1st for me). Mine is for TMJ issues (two displaced discs). I had jaw surgery in Nov of 2010 and based off of what I went through with that surgery (BSSO, Lefort1, Genioplasty and Septoplasty), the IVRO should be cake. The pain shouldn't be too bad especially since your doc will hopefully give you some Oxycodone or Morphine in liquid form (at least that's what they gave me) for the first week or so. The worst part about this surgery will be being wired shut (pretty much a requirement for the IVRO because they can't use plates) for 4 to 6 weeks. With my previous surgery I was hard wired 10 weeks which sucked all kinds of bad. My advise, similar to what someone else posted, is to suck down the milk shakes. The more nutrients you can take in the quicker you will heal and the sooner you will get cut out of the wires. I had 2 or 3 Boost Plus Chocolate Shakes (I never got tired of those for some reason) a day plus the fruit smoothies and home made soup my wife would make for me and I still lost 35 pounds. Also...If they are doing archbars (ask them if they haven't mentioned it yet) on you (50/50 chance), make sure you are SEDATED (preferably with a Propofol drip in the OR) when they remove the archbars!!! I can not emphasize this enough!!!! I had mine removed the first time with just hurricane spray (topical) and even with a Surg Resident working on each side, it took 30 minutes and HURT SOMETHING HORRIBLE. I don't mean to scare you, but I'm really, really of the opinion archbar removal should be done in the OR or at least with some type of sedation. The topical stuff just doesn't cut it.
Yeah I have to have another surgery and it sucks really bad. It seems in the process of doing the first surgery they put too much pressure on my TMJs which in turn dislocated both of the discs. I've had lots of surgeries, so that part doesn't bother me....It's being wired shut again that really is getting on my nerves.
The surgery is being done again at the University of Michigan and their TMJ specialist Dr. Fineberg is doing the surgery. Don't know which Resident is going to assist. They have so many Residents (I see a different one almost every time I have an appointment) so odds are I won't find out till the day of the surgery.
I'm so sorry about this. Please keep us posted. I don't know Dr Feinberg very well. All the current chief residents are really good; I like them all. I got one assigned to my case because it is so complex.
This stinks!
Braces 1986 & Sept 2007 (age 34)
severe class II impinging overbite
17 missing teeth (genetically)- AXIN 2 genetic mutation
Jan 2010 - genioplasty w/mandibular bone graft (from chin bone)
Jul 2010 - 4 mandibular implants. FAILED
Oct 2010 - re-placement of 3 implants, hardware removal
03/29/2011 - BSSO and 3 piece Lefort I
Sept 2012 - Upper jaw - 4 implants w/bone graft.
Jan 2016 - upper hardware removal, extensive upper bone graft
Their Residents are for the most part pretty good. Dr. Lu was the Resident that Assisted Dr. Helman during my first surgery. He's a pretty good guy. He stayed over night in the intensive care unit with me after my surgery was done because Dr. Helman and him were so worried about my airway due to all the swelling I had post-op. Dr. Lu told me he actually did half of the surgery and Helman did the other half. I was kind of surprised to hear that they allow the Residents to do so much of the procedure. But I guess they have to learn some how. Too bad it had to be on me!! I really hope that isn't the reason why I have the Disc Displacement issues now??
Beowulf68- Umm, no one has mentioned anything about an archbar. Must go google. Thanks for the info, I'll ask my surgeon at my next visit. I have a ton of appointments coming up!
Freakyteeth- My parents are going to take my daughter for a few weeks while I recover while my husband takes care of me. My biggest concern in everything was that my daughter would be ok. I didn't want to scare her. I've been trying to talk to her about what's going to happen, etc. It's going to be a tough 8 weeks!
LaLi01- My husband mentioned something about getting a vitamix. I might look in to it. I was told that I'd be wired shut completely for 8 weeks, so, I think whirling that thing around every single day for eight weeks, at the very least, would be worth the investment. Thanks for the cooking network advice, I think I'll probably do the same Why did you have two surgeries on the lower jaw?
If you have braces already then they won't have to do the archbars because they'll wrap the wires around the brackets already on your teeth. Archbars are for people who don't have braces. My surgery was due to sleep apnea and my bite was fine, so no braces beforehand. There is another way to wire people shut besides archbars I just can't remember what it's called and the Oral Surgeons at the Hospital I go to only use Archbars.
Beowulf68- OK, yes I have a full mouth of braces, so no archbar for me. I was wondering why he hadn't mentioned anything and when I tried to google it, it wasn't giving me a clear picture of what it actually was. Thanks for the clarification.
