Metal Mouth Message Board

the story: originally my surgeon was going to carry out the op in jan but that got postponed to sometime in feb and because uni starts for me two weeks post op i wanted to change the surgery date to dec, i know its a long wait but i didn't want to waste half a semester. my surgeon however made it clear that most of the swelling would have been gone after the two weeks and that carrying on with my studies wouldn't be a problem, for that reason i decided to go on with the surgery (also due to the fact that many from this site said they were fit for work after just 2 weeks).

now my problem: i had a meeting with my anesthetist yesterday and he reminded me that ill be wired shut for 4-6 weeks, the problem here is that i may be doing a lot of oral speeches for my course and i don't wish to sit out on those (not for 6 weeks..) and i really don't wish to let the other students know i've had surgery. so my question: how long were you guys wired shut for and were you able to talk during that time? when my surgeon said ill be ready for uni 2 weeks post op i hope he didn't just account for the swelling and forget about the fact that i do need to talk in class. despite my anesthetist saying ill be wired shut for 4-6weeks is this always the case? maybe i can get away with just being wired shut for 3 weeks ?

any help/advice is appreciated, thank you.

This is a question for your surgeon. I'm not sure the anesthetist really knows all the gory details of your planned operation... I hope your surgeon would have mentioned to you if you were going to be banded shut for two months.

Are you in the UK or EU by any chance? I ask because banding shut seems to be more commonly reported by posters there, whereas here in the US, the surgeons seem more likely to rely solely on the internal fixation.

sirwired wrote:This is a question for your surgeon. I'm not sure the anesthetist really knows all the gory details of your planned operation... I hope your surgeon would have mentioned to you if you were going to be banded shut for two months.

Are you in the UK or EU by any chance? I ask because banding shut seems to be more commonly reported by posters there, whereas here in the US, the surgeons seem more likely to rely solely on the internal fixation.

I'll make sure i ask the surgeon during my next pre-op meeting (:
To answer your question, i'm actually from Australia.

I was wired shut for 2 weeks. Talking was difficult. Imagine clenching your teeth together and talking - it's hard to project your voice and annunciate. Also, my sentences were often drawn out because I had to stop midway, breathe through my nose, instead of being able to talk and breathe by mouth. I couldn't breathe through my mouth like in casual conversation because of the splint guard between the wires.

I wasn't wired or banded at all! I know its not the norm, but I was able to talk, even though I couldn't open very wide. While I understand not wanting to publicize your surgery & personal information, your classmates will certainly bs able tell that you've had something done. I give briefings daily for large groups, and I did have to preface some of my meetings with a "I've had surgery, so let me know if you can't understand me". Not sure if you just meant you would be talking alot, or giving formal speeches, but I also had a hard time speaking loudly.

Good Luck!

have you considered a seeking a medical exemption/extension for school? i dont know anything about australian law but US protects students with medical conditions. in other words, you shouldn't be punished because your recovery took longer than expected.