Re: Umm....Question!

[Guest guest]

Lefort I is the upper jaw surgery - they break the jaw under the nose

and re-set it. Could be up or down, back or forward.

Mandibular osteotomy is the lower jaw surgery. They break the jaw in

two places on either side, just behind your last molars, and either

slide it forwards or backwards. There is enough bone there to have

bone on bone for good contact.

Then you're either wired or fixed with teeny plates & screws.

The genioplasty is either a reduction or an advancement, depending on

what your surgeon determines you need after he's performed the other

procedures.

Hope that helps. I'm having a Lefort I and BSSO (mandibular

osteotomy) plus possible genioplasty on Tuesday.

[Guest guest]

Ahh, thankee! I wasn't sure which was which, y'know, and I lost

the spifty little information booklet they gave me at my

consultation. Hm. Interesting, but not unexpected.

Wow, Tuesday...I don't even have my braces yet (darned orthodontist

couldn't schedule any earlier than September 17. If he makes me wait

much longer than that, I will throw temper tantrums). Well, may

everything go smoothly for you!

-

[Guest guest]

Please go to the geocities site and read.

Genioplasty is the work on the chin, either backward or forward. It

can be done several ways.

Le Forte I is the work on the upper jaw, with a cut beneath the

nose, across the front.

Mandibular means lower jaw. Osteotomy means cutting the bones.

Cammie

> Alright, so today I get a letter from our insurance company (It

was

> charming how they addressed it to me, considering I'm under age and

> not paying for any of this) telling me that my request for them to

> pay for genioplasty (technically, this was my *Surgeon's* request)

> was denied because it was a cosmetic procedure, blah blah blah.

>

> However...Two other things were approved. Le forte I and

> mandibular osteotomies. What's that mean? What are they gonna do?

[Guest guest]

Thanks, . Once those braces go on, you should start to see

some action. It's frustrating to wait, I know! I was on here for a

year and a half listening to everybody going in and out of surgery,

and it's hard to believe it's my turn now.

> Ahh, thankee! I wasn't sure which was which, y'know, and I lost

> the spifty little information booklet they gave me at my

> consultation. Hm. Interesting, but not unexpected.

>

> Wow, Tuesday...I don't even have my braces yet (darned

orthodontist

> couldn't schedule any earlier than September 17. If he makes me

wait

> much longer than that, I will throw temper tantrums). Well, may

> everything go smoothly for you!

>

> -

[Guest guest]

Oh, you're quite welcome! I know if I was having my surgery next

week, I'd want people to be wishing me well!

It seems you know exactly how I'm feeling at this point in time.

Well, I'll just try to be as patient as I can. Unfortunately, some

of my friends and family are making it slightly difficult (i.e.,

telling me to knock it off when I share something new I've learned or

just telling me how disgusting it is). Have you encountered any such

obstacles? I guess everybody does. Well, gotta go!

-

[Guest guest]

, I found a lot more people who were curious because they

thought they needed some similar attention... Maybe that's because I

sorta live in the boonies.

But I can't think of anybody who said it was a dumb thing to do. I do

know that lots of times families resist seeing their loved ones go

through these procedures, and I suspect the reasons are as varied and

complex as human personalities are.

But you're welcome to share here. You have an interested group

assembled, and eager to hear whatever you're discovering. I do think

that I become very boooring when I'm talking about " my operation, "

and I try to stifle it with people who are not genuinely concerned.

Most who are, either are thinking of it themselves, or have children

or other loved ones confronting the experience.

Cammie

>

> Oh, you're quite welcome! I know if I was having my surgery next

> week, I'd want people to be wishing me well!

>

> It seems you know exactly how I'm feeling at this point in time.

> Well, I'll just try to be as patient as I can. Unfortunately, some

> of my friends and family are making it slightly difficult (i.e.,

> telling me to knock it off when I share something new I've learned

or

> just telling me how disgusting it is). Have you encountered any

such

> obstacles? I guess everybody does. Well, gotta go!

>

> -

[Guest guest]

Well, from one boonie gal to another, I must confess that I never

encountered, let alone heard of anyone who had a problem similar to

mine until I joined this group! My old orthodontist had this habit

of dragging over every assistant in the place to show them my jaw.

And then they'd ask me if it hurt or anything, how did I eat, et

cetera ad nauseam. Actually, it was sorta funny. Of course, it's

very encouraging to know that I'm not all alone in my jaw problems.

They (my friends & co) never said it was dumb, really...But some of

them don't seem to think I need it. As my surgeon said, I " wear my

bite well " . One of my closest friends since age 7 didn't even know

my jaw was crooked! I just never mentioned it around her, and when I

said I was having surgery, she was shocked. But once I showed her

why, she was very supportive.

I just would like my teeth to meet! And sometimes when people tell

me I'm fine the way I am, it's not exactly what I want to hear. Call

me crazy, contrary or just plain silly, but I'd rather they just

acknowledge that my jaw is crooked and it needs to be put back on

track. I suppose that hearing them say I don't need anything done

makes me feel vain. It kind of belittles all the personal reasons

I've got for going through with this. Well, I don't let it

discourage me. After all, I'm doing this for me, not for them. So

long as they know that, and support my decision in the end, they're

still my buds.

-

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Some of your family & friends will just have to be ignored. I

wouldn't bring stuff up with them. We are lucky to have this and

other boards to talk to others about things. My husband lets me go on

about some stuff, but I don't tell him everything (I'm afraid of

scaring him!).

My younger brother, when I told him what I was having done,

pronounced that he'd had a vasectomy the week before, having produced

his " heir and a spare " . As if that's anything like what we're going

through!

I don't expect any of my family to visit, or to care about it, other

than my parents. I told them not to visit the hospital because it's a

long drive for them, and I don't want them to see me all puffed up.

They will get the first phonecall post-op, just to let them know I'm

ok.

You will need somebody in your family or a significant other who is

supportive, though, when the time comes. I think I'm heading into the

more difficult part of this whole thing, and I wouldn't be doing it

unless I had the support I do.

Best wishes,

[Guest guest]

,

My parents were dead set against me having this surgery. 'Course,

they didn't have to live with my migraines, jaw pain and limited

diet. My dad even told me that it " wouldn't be the end of the world "

if I just wore braces for the rest of my life.

Three weeks after surgery, they're telling me how beautiful I look.

They haven't come right out and admitted they were wrong, but they

keep saying how good my surgeon must be. I'm still not chewing so

unsure if the pain is gone forever, but for now I feel relatively

well (except for these rubber bands, of course). I don't know how

old you are, but I'm 39. I've waited for this surgery for many, many

years, partly due to my parents' opinions. Sometimes you just have

to stop worrying about what others think and go with your gut

instincts.

Cheryl

[Guest guest]

My mom's been nothing but good through all of this. I lucked out

in that one, at least. She's a little squeamish, but hey - she's a

mom. It's allowed.

Talk about a 180! Well, I'm sure they're feeling rather sheepish

now. I'm not sure how different I may look after my surgery, but

that's a still a long road and I'm not going to worry myself. I

secretly hope that one of the side benefits of this surgery will be

an improvement in my smile. I have some problems with smiling. It

takes a great, great deal of effort to do so, which makes me cross

when people tell me I should smile more often.

But I could live with smiling only once in a blue moon. I'd rather

not live with a jaw that clicks, is causing my teeth on one side of

my mouth to wear down faster than on the other side, and unable to

bite a piece of pizza!

I'm something of a youngster at 17. I was first informed that

surgery might be my only option if I wanted to correct my jaw...Oh,

when I was in elementary school. 9 or 10 years old. As you can

imagine, that went over *real* well. But at least this wasn't

dropped on me out of a clear blue sky. Gave me time to get used to

the idea, to the point where there's no way I'm going to change my

mind. After all...if I don't have the surgery next summer, before

college, I won't have time for probably a couple of years. My

surgeon told me to think about it; if I wanted to wait that long, and

would I have any regrets if I did.

Now that I think about it, the only thing that's really bothered me

is the whole friends-not-getting-it. But as I'm learning, I see that

I'm far from alone in this respect! And so long as I've got access

to a place where I can vent, it's nothing I can't handle.

Thanks Cammie, Cheryl and . You guys are great!

[Guest guest]

Yeah, my mom's great too. But she didn't really wanna know exactly

how they're gonna do the surgery.

And she advises me that I was " perfect when I was born " , so there's

no warranty claim there either.

I'll bet you get an improvement in your smile. Mine has changed

dramatically in the last 3-4 months, and I wasn't banking on that at

all. Still got the surgery to come too, so I may have even more

change.

Sounds like this is the right time for you to do this to me!

[Guest guest]

Oooops - I meant the right time to do this to YOU. Duh.

> Sounds like this is the right time for you to do this to me!

>