! Re: 2 weeks until upper/lower/chin surg.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

All of your questions are good ones. Congrats on your date and keep

busy until then ... it will keep your mind off of things. It will

be over before you know it and will be on the Other Side soon enough.

I was one who had to have a second surgery to fix my midline. No, I

was not told prior to Surgery 1 that this could happen. I wish I

could have gotten a cut and dry answer as to why this happened to

me, but doctors being who they are, they mostly stand by their work,

etc. I woke up from Surgery 1 knowing that the top midline was over

too much to the left. My surgeon has hoped the ortho could move the

teeth back into the correct position. I had gotten second and third

opinions from other surgeons afterwards, who all confirmed that my

bite issues had been fixed correctly and that there was no evidence

that the surgeon did anything wrong.

The surgeons are concerned with bone structure and the ortho is

concerned about your teeth, bite and their appearance. It's

important they work together to decide just how much will be changed

during surgery. I was ultimately told that once my surgeon got into

my mouth, it was much more complicated that an x-ray could tell

going in. All parties agree that he did the best he could with one

6-hour surgery and that an adjustment would be needed. I could have

left it as it was and have a good bite (no more open bite), but if I

wanted a better cosmetic appearance, I'd need the adjustment. My

biggest concern was whether to go back to him for the second

surgery, which I ultimately decided to do. The results are great

now after surgery 2.

Please take note. In my opinion, there aren't a lot of folks who

have to have multiple surgeries. There's a few of us here. And as

far as my surgeon, who's been doing this for over 10 years, I've

been the first he's had to do a second surgery on. I don't think

it's a common occurrence for most surgeons. If it makes you feel

better, ask your surgeon if he's ever had to do multiple surgeries

on the same person and why. Relapse is another issue and you might

want to see how many your surgeon has seen of those.

Sorry for the length but hope it helps. Even having to have the

adjustment surgery, so far I am thrilled and no regrets at this

point. 2 surgeries, for me at least, was far better than having the

open bite for the rest of my life. Oh, and my nose changed slightly

but for the better! Zip 'n Squeezes were great for my first surgery

for the first week or so. I'd order some if you still have time.

Irish!

> Hi everyone. I have only posted once before but now my surgery is

in

> 2 weeks and Im starting to freak out. I have been reading most of

> your posts, and I have a few questions about things that pop up

more

> then once. First, there have been a lot of you who say that you

had

> more then one surgery...why? Do people have to have more then one

of

> these surgeries because my surgeon has not mentioned that

> possibility. Also, there have been a few of you who had problems

with

> your midlines. Was this something you had been told about pre-

surgery

> or was it simply an error made by the surgeon which forced you to

get

> a second surgery? IM SCARED!!! I have also read a few people who

> mentioned that their nose seemed to change, is that normal? I am

just

> really nervous to wake up from surgery and not recognize myself.

> Getting sick is another thing that worries me. If I do get sick,

is

> there a chance that I could mess up the fragile jaws? Oh-and are

> those zip-n-squeeze things worth it? I know I sound crazy but i

just

> have sooo many questions. Im just very scared that I will somehow

> mess up my results. Any answers to my questions or advice that you

> have for me is greatly appriciated!

> ~