Metal Mouth Message Board

Its been 74 days since my upper jaw revision and the swelling on the right side of my face has not seemed to have gone down much. In comparison to the left side if my face, its MUCH more swollen and when I smile its VERY lopsided. It also feels very tight on this side and tender. Any advice as to what can help this swelling go down as fast as my left side? or maybe any insights on if I should be concerned about this unevenness? This side was more swollen from the beginning and maybe it's just not healing as fast as the other side but idk why that would be ‍♀️‍♀️‍♀️ please help

You are a warrior to have gone through revision.

Based on your description, there are a few possibilities:

1) Swelling can take many months to resolve, and it is not uncommon for swelling to be uneven. You may want to wait it out another two or three months for it to resolve. I think this is the most probable scenario, in which case you have little to be concerned about. Some claim supplements like arnica, bromelainm, turmeric and calendula can help reduce swelling. I haven't seen any persuasive medical literature showing that this is true.

2) Infection of a plate or graft on the affected side. I feel like you would most likely have other symptoms, so this I think is unlikely.

3) Facial nerve damage. Here a neurologist might help you with a diagnosis. A feeling of heaviness and lopsided facial expressions MAY be indicative of facial nerve damage. The good thing is that you are early in your recovery and nerves can take a long time to recover. Vitamin B complex may help regeneration.

Keep your head up and try not to obsess about it. Easier said than done, I'm aware. Wish you the best.

Hi There- my swelling took a full year to disappear completely. I did not start to really look normal until about 3 months post-op.

Sometimes you may not realize the progress you're actually making or you may be on to something. The best way to evaluate is to take a selfie once a week (same pose, lighting, etc.) to visually see if you are making any progress. Seeing as you had a revision; you need to communicate these concerns directly to your oral surgeon and get his opinion. Perhaps the one side with more swelling was the more challenging side for him because of existing scar tissue or anatomical variances.

In regards to products; I found the arnicare gel (found at Bed Bath & Beyond) helped tremendously with bruising the first few weeks postop. Not sure if you'll have any benefit this late date out but it certainly can't hurt anything. You could also talk to surgeon about a short course of NSAID's (Naproxen, Motrin) to see if this helps at all.

Also; your jaw has muscles and the more you do (talking, eating) the more blood flow to the area and hence more swelling. It will come and go for a while.
Karla

Ho would you mind sharing the movements made to your upper jaw revision. Iam also looking to do upper jaw revision cause after my first surgery my surgeon really moved my upper jaw too far forward and now I have ape like facial structure.