Re: Anyone had 2nd surgery to fix lip incompetence?

[Guest guest]

hi,

how many months post-op are you? I would give it time for

everything to settle into place... I am almost 7 mths. from upper

and genio (advancement), and I still notice a *slight* amount of

lip incompetence when my lips are relaxed completely (maybe

1-2mm?). Anyhow, personally, I find it is so minor and doesn't

bother me at all, and wouldn't even think of going through all this

again because of it. Is your bite/alignment not fixed completely

from the first surgery?

> My lip incompetence is not completely fixed after the 1st

surgery. Surgeon told me a 2nd surgery is the only option.

Naturally I'm quite pissed because I don't want to deal with

another pre-op anxiety/post-op recovery cycle. Guess I'm one of

the unlucky ones...

>

> Anyone had experience with a 2nd surgery to fix lip

incompetence? What's it like? Was it easier than the first?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I was one of those unlucky ones who had to have a second surgery to

fix lip incomptience. It was actually my teeth that were causing them

not to close. The surgeon knew within 3 weeks that I needed the

second surgery. I had upper jaw advancement and reduction genioplasty

in my first surgery. The upper jaw was advanced a good 8 mm. and

actually tilted downward. The second surgery was a premaxilla

osteotomy, I think, meaning that only the front part of the maxilla

bone was brought up. That did result in my 4 front teeth being

shorter than my cuspids, and molars but after about one month post op

from that surgery, my lips do close. not great, becuz the brace

brackets are big, but also i think i am stil healing. The closing of

the lips fluctuates daily. I still dont have complete closure at

rest..about 1 mm opening at times. Do give it time to heal. Your doc

knows what is best better than the rest of us. As for my teeth, i

have been reassured that the braces will fix my teeth and they will

be evened out. I will say that the second surgey was a breeze. I had

to be put under which scared me but as soon as I woke up, i was

alert, not in pain and was READY to go home. But i had to wait for

the ok from the doctor and that was about 7 hours later. I was not

wired shut as the wires of my braces was used as stablizers. I, of

course, did not return to work until 5 days later. (surgery was a

wed, i went back to work on a monday). I am now 3 months post op from

the 1st surgery and about 2 months post op from the 2nd. I would say

that this week, i am beginning to feel like myself and my face is

improving finally!!!

> > My lip incompetence is not completely fixed after the 1st

> surgery. Surgeon told me a 2nd surgery is the only option.

> Naturally I'm quite pissed because I don't want to deal with

> another pre-op anxiety/post-op recovery cycle. Guess I'm one of

> the unlucky ones...

> >

> > Anyone had experience with a 2nd surgery to fix lip

> incompetence? What's it like? Was it easier than the first?

[Guest guest]

Hi tifferentca,

Thanks for your reply. I'm 2 months post-op. Swelling is almost all gone

except for some residual in the lower cheek area. My lip incompetence is around

7mm when my lips are completely relaxed, so I think that even with the swelling

completely gone and the soft tissues fully adjusted to the new jaw positions,

it's unlikely to get any better than perhaps 5mm, which is still a lot.

I've read several articles on the web and they all say that the ideal lip

incompetence should be 0-2mm. So your 1-2mm falls within the ideal range.

My bite and alignment is much better after the surgery. My slight open bite was

fixed and I'm quite happy with my bite. It's just that I have to strain quite a

bit to get a seal on my lips because of the lip incompetence. Basically I'm

walking around with my lips wide apart all the time.

What should I do? Should I change surgeon?

> > My lip incompetence is not completely fixed after the 1st

> surgery. Surgeon told me a 2nd surgery is the only option.

> Naturally I'm quite pissed because I don't want to deal with

> another pre-op anxiety/post-op recovery cycle. Guess I'm one of

> the unlucky ones...

> >

> > Anyone had experience with a 2nd surgery to fix lip

> incompetence? What's it like? Was it easier than the first?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. Sorry to hear you needed a second surgery. But I'm

glad it was a breeze (relatively speaking, of course )and your lip

incompetence has been fixed. I don't know if my second surgery - if I choose to

have one - would be as simple as yours because I had a maxilla reduction instead

of upper jaw advancement; I don't know if my plates are to be removed and then

put back on again. I'll need to ask my surgeon about the procedure.

> > > My lip incompetence is not completely fixed after the 1st

> > surgery. Surgeon told me a 2nd surgery is the only option.

> > Naturally I'm quite pissed because I don't want to deal with

> > another pre-op anxiety/post-op recovery cycle. Guess I'm one of

> > the unlucky ones...

> > >

> > > Anyone had experience with a 2nd surgery to fix lip

> > incompetence? What's it like? Was it easier than the first?

[Guest guest]

Hi hiroshinanamani,

I also had a maxilla reduction, mine was to fix a slight openbite (I

believe the front was moved up 3.7 mm and the back was 5 mm

- approx.). My chin was advanced 5 mm.

Did you have any lower surgery? and/or genioplasty? I know in

my case, the doctor said he felt that genioplasty would help

improve my lip incompetence. I can't imagine how I would look

without it now. Maybe that is all you would need, genioplasty. I

would definitely talk to your surgeon about your options, how will

it be affected by what has already been done, and what are the

likely outcomes (how likely is it to improve your lip

incompetence? and by how much?). Ask as many questions as

you feel relevant that will you feel more secure with your

decision. If you don't feel comfortable with your surgeon, maybe

get a second opinion?

Good luck with whatever decision you make. I would honestly

wait until at least 6 mths. post-op before going through it again. I

would think things should settle completely before you try to fix

something else. Of course, a surgeon would be able to give you

better guidance.

> > > My lip incompetence is not completely fixed after the 1st

> > surgery. Surgeon told me a 2nd surgery is the only option.

> > Naturally I'm quite pissed because I don't want to deal with

> > another pre-op anxiety/post-op recovery cycle. Guess I'm one

of

> > the unlucky ones...

> > >

> > > Anyone had experience with a 2nd surgery to fix lip

> > incompetence? What's it like? Was it easier than the first?