Re: ....you are my surgical hero..

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

17 mm! wow talk about taking the jaw travelling!!!

What an overbite.

A distractor? That doesn't sound like fun. What is involved in

that? I like medical stuff...but have narcolepsy so thought it

wasn't responsible to become a md myself - became programmer.

2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

Necrosis...oh wow.

Okay I am curious about this soft bone stuff and the distractors.

Sounds very high tech, you must live in a large urban centre?

Upper jaw surgery didn't change my upper facial structure too much.

Straightening out my upper jaw did straighten out my nose.

=hmm what do you mean? just the tip? I am trying to figure out if

I should do the nose first, I want the chin to be on centre...

But I know I risk another surgery if they displace my septum again.

does the part after @ start with aol? in your email?

Surgery one was a straight 5mm one side 2mm the other side BSSO.

A very conservative overly conservative but I digress.. I was 2

months post partum and my surgeon felt sorry for me so ... But it

corrected cross bite and most of my overbite (still have about 2-3mm

but def. liveable)

Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

So they came out. My jaw is still a little off but hey I am thirty

so I figure jaw definition is defn. sliding and it won't be terribly

noticeable, that and this may sound terrible but with people being

larger these days and having less jaw definition I think there is

less emphasis on cheekbones and stand out bone structure. So

surgery 3 should be a basic leforte 1 I believe and a genio. I

broke my face falling down stairs at 14. Its been a long journey but

hopefully it won't last forever.

Now tell me about these distractors, is that easier on the nerve

damage? I personally think about getting the bsso done again but my

scar tissue is huge and I almost have full feeling back so its not

worth it really. But the open bite needs to be fixed. I guess I

healed at a different angle - or because the screws came out, hard

to get a surgeon to critique their work. Or it would have been open

to begin with and he thought I'd accept that. I can open 2 fingers

still even with tongue depressors...insert jokes here

But I imagine my upper jaw will be moved back a bit. I keep teasing

my dh that he's getting a better model of woman than the one he

bought. He's really supportive but most people think I am nuts,

meanwhile I think anyone who wants to live with TMJ or bad bites

without exploring the options is nuts.

However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember it.

*next could be the body too

Ah well enough of me.

Shiloh

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

17 mm! wow talk about taking the jaw travelling!!!

What an overbite.

A distractor? That doesn't sound like fun. What is involved in

that? I like medical stuff...but have narcolepsy so thought it

wasn't responsible to become a md myself - became programmer.

2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

Necrosis...oh wow.

Okay I am curious about this soft bone stuff and the distractors.

Sounds very high tech, you must live in a large urban centre?

Upper jaw surgery didn't change my upper facial structure too much.

Straightening out my upper jaw did straighten out my nose.

=hmm what do you mean? just the tip? I am trying to figure out if

I should do the nose first, I want the chin to be on centre...

But I know I risk another surgery if they displace my septum again.

does the part after @ start with aol? in your email?

Surgery one was a straight 5mm one side 2mm the other side BSSO.

A very conservative overly conservative but I digress.. I was 2

months post partum and my surgeon felt sorry for me so ... But it

corrected cross bite and most of my overbite (still have about 2-3mm

but def. liveable)

Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

So they came out. My jaw is still a little off but hey I am thirty

so I figure jaw definition is defn. sliding and it won't be terribly

noticeable, that and this may sound terrible but with people being

larger these days and having less jaw definition I think there is

less emphasis on cheekbones and stand out bone structure. So

surgery 3 should be a basic leforte 1 I believe and a genio. I

broke my face falling down stairs at 14. Its been a long journey but

hopefully it won't last forever.

Now tell me about these distractors, is that easier on the nerve

damage? I personally think about getting the bsso done again but my

scar tissue is huge and I almost have full feeling back so its not

worth it really. But the open bite needs to be fixed. I guess I

healed at a different angle - or because the screws came out, hard

to get a surgeon to critique their work. Or it would have been open

to begin with and he thought I'd accept that. I can open 2 fingers

still even with tongue depressors...insert jokes here

But I imagine my upper jaw will be moved back a bit. I keep teasing

my dh that he's getting a better model of woman than the one he

bought. He's really supportive but most people think I am nuts,

meanwhile I think anyone who wants to live with TMJ or bad bites

without exploring the options is nuts.

However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember it.

*next could be the body too

Ah well enough of me.

Shiloh

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

17 mm! wow talk about taking the jaw travelling!!!

What an overbite.

A distractor? That doesn't sound like fun. What is involved in

that? I like medical stuff...but have narcolepsy so thought it

wasn't responsible to become a md myself - became programmer.

2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

Necrosis...oh wow.

Okay I am curious about this soft bone stuff and the distractors.

Sounds very high tech, you must live in a large urban centre?

Upper jaw surgery didn't change my upper facial structure too much.

Straightening out my upper jaw did straighten out my nose.

=hmm what do you mean? just the tip? I am trying to figure out if

I should do the nose first, I want the chin to be on centre...

But I know I risk another surgery if they displace my septum again.

does the part after @ start with aol? in your email?

Surgery one was a straight 5mm one side 2mm the other side BSSO.

A very conservative overly conservative but I digress.. I was 2

months post partum and my surgeon felt sorry for me so ... But it

corrected cross bite and most of my overbite (still have about 2-3mm

but def. liveable)

Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

So they came out. My jaw is still a little off but hey I am thirty

so I figure jaw definition is defn. sliding and it won't be terribly

noticeable, that and this may sound terrible but with people being

larger these days and having less jaw definition I think there is

less emphasis on cheekbones and stand out bone structure. So

surgery 3 should be a basic leforte 1 I believe and a genio. I

broke my face falling down stairs at 14. Its been a long journey but

hopefully it won't last forever.

Now tell me about these distractors, is that easier on the nerve

damage? I personally think about getting the bsso done again but my

scar tissue is huge and I almost have full feeling back so its not

worth it really. But the open bite needs to be fixed. I guess I

healed at a different angle - or because the screws came out, hard

to get a surgeon to critique their work. Or it would have been open

to begin with and he thought I'd accept that. I can open 2 fingers

still even with tongue depressors...insert jokes here

But I imagine my upper jaw will be moved back a bit. I keep teasing

my dh that he's getting a better model of woman than the one he

bought. He's really supportive but most people think I am nuts,

meanwhile I think anyone who wants to live with TMJ or bad bites

without exploring the options is nuts.

However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember it.

*next could be the body too

Ah well enough of me.

Shiloh

[Guest guest]

Hi Shiloh!

Errr! I wrote a long reply last night but somehow the message got

lost. Anyway, in my befuddled mind this morning, I'll try to

remember what I wrote.

> 17 mm! wow talk about taking the jaw travelling!!!

> What an overbite.

Yeah, it was huge. Partly it was from genetics (my mother and my

three year daughter have the same overbite) and partly from the

arthritis in the joints eroding the condyles. My bite was always bad

but it just kept getting worse over the years. Unfortunately when I

was first diagnosed with having TMJ problems as a teenager, the

surgical technology didn't exist yet to fix my bite. If I had had it

done then, then I probably wouldn't have the problems that I have

now. We'll definitely get our daughter's bite fixed as soon as she

has stopped growing. So your daughter also has an overbite, too?

>

> A distractor? That doesn't sound like fun. What is involved in

> that?

It's kind of hard to describe in words but here is a website that

diagrams out the techniques. By the time I had the last surgery, my

condyles looked like somewhere between the class IIa and IIb

diagrams.

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/molina.htm#Distraction%20Technique

The distractors I have are a little different. Most of the device is

under the skin except for the screws. Those are hanging out my

cheeks near the jawline. The screws had to be turned twice a day for

two weeks for a total of 13 mm of distaction. That part was very

painful but now they're just uncomfortable. The first distraction I

went through was to advance the mandible. The surgeon made a cut

through my lower jaw just like he would with a usual BSSO and then

placed the distractor across it where the plates and screws usually

would go. Distraction is usually used for larger movements. My

surgeons have told me they only consider distraction for movements

greater than 10 mm in the lower jaw especially when they would

otherwise need to use a bone graft.

> 2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

The muscle grafts are from the temporalis muscle which is in your

scalp. The surgeon cut out a 1-2 cm piece out of the muscle above my

ear keeping part of it still attached (to keep the blood supply)

just above my earlobe. He then rotated it around into the joint

space. It will scar down and form tissue very similar to cartilage.

A few others here on this site have had the procedure done too with

great success.

>

> Okay I am curious about this soft bone stuff and the distractors.

> Sounds very high tech, you must live in a large urban centre?

Yes, there are not a lot of surgeons in the US who do distraction. I

happened to be lucky and live a few minutes away from the office of

some who do. The procedure was actually pioneered in the former USSR

by Dr Ilizarov over 50 years ago when he didn't have the

more " sophisticated " equipment that we did in the West. He used

distraction (also known as external fixation) to heal long bone

fractures (such as in the arms and legs). The procedure has been

used to lengthen limbs to correct a leg length discrepancy or to

make people with dwarfism taller. Oral and plastic surgeons have

adapted the technique to correct facial anomalies as well.

>

> Upper jaw surgery didn't change my upper facial structure too much.

> Straightening out my upper jaw did straighten out my nose.

> =hmm what do you mean? just the tip? I am trying to figure out

if

> I should do the nose first, I want the chin to be on centre...

> But I know I risk another surgery if they displace my septum again.

My upper jaw had grown down more on one side than the other so it

pulled my nose toward that direction as well. My nose was noticeably

deviated to the right and my nasal passages were very narrow so I

never could breath through my nose. During my upper jaw surgery, the

surgeon brought up one side more than the other to correct the cant.

He also did septoplasty and enlarged my nasal passages by removing

the turbinates (from the back of the nose). Now I can finally breath

through my nose. I have heard of others who also had nasal surgery

at the same time as their jaw surgery and others who were told to

wait until they had healed from their jaw surgery before anything

was done to the nose. I guess it depends on each individual

situation as well the preference of the surgeon. I am very happy

with the way my nose turned out. It doesn't really look different

except that it is straight now and in the midline of my face. I

didn't have to have rhinoplasty since there was nothing wrong with

the size or shape of my nose.

>

> does the part after @ start with aol? in your email?

It's att.net

>

> I was 2 months post partum and my surgeon felt sorry for me

so ...

Two months post-partum? No, you are the hero here. How did you ever

take of your baby and yourself after surgery? My husband had to take

our two and three year old daughters to his parents because it was

too much for me to have them around in the first few weeks post-op.

My two year is too young to understand and she kept wanting to climb

and jump all over me and touch my face. She is very attached to

Mommy and still wants to be held 90% of the time.

> Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

> post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

> So they came out.

What was that like? I would imagine getting the distractors out will

be similar. I'll find out this afternoon when my surgeon wants to

take them out.

My jaw is still a little off but hey I am thirty

> so I figure jaw definition is defn. sliding and it won't be

terribly

> noticeable.

We are our own worst critics. What may seem obvious to us looking in

the mirror, most people don't even notice. Most people are probably

a little assymetric and aren't even aware of it. I'm sure you look

fine even if your bite is still off.

> I broke my face falling down stairs at 14. Its been a long

journey but hopefully it won't last forever.

Ouch! That sounds more painful than any of these surgeries. No, it

won't last forever and I think you're past the worst of it. For me

anyway, upper jaw surgery was much easier than the lower. Less

painful but I didn't have much congestion because of the

turbinectomy. That and I knew what to expect so there were no big

surprises the second time around.

> Now tell me about these distractors, is that easier on the nerve

> damage?

It is easier on the nerves because they are stretched gradually

instead of all at once but I still have numbness I think, because of

the distance involved. There is tingling so I'm sure I'll regain

normal sensation eventually.

I personally think about getting the bsso done again but my

> scar tissue is huge and I almost have full feeling back so its not

> worth it really. But the open bite needs to be fixed. I guess I

> healed at a different angle - or because the screws came out, hard

> to get a surgeon to critique their work. Or it would have been

open

> to begin with and he thought I'd accept that. I can open 2

fingers

> still even with tongue depressors...insert jokes here

Ha-ha! But seriously, why is your opening still so limited? Was your

open bite present immediately after your BSSO or did it develop over

time? Are you having any problems with the TMJ's? Did you have them

evaluated to see if that is contributing to your open bite now or

your limited opening?

>

> But I imagine my upper jaw will be moved back a bit. I keep

teasing

> my dh that he's getting a better model of woman than the one he

> bought. He's really supportive but most people think I am nuts,

> meanwhile I think anyone who wants to live with TMJ or bad bites

> without exploring the options is nuts.

I agree. You're not nuts at all. You're the one who has to live with

the bad bite. It still amazes me how many people think we go through

all this just for cosmetic reasons. I do think I look better now

than I did before all the surgeries but still the reason I did all

this was to be able to eat normally and save my teeth before I did

more damage.

Having supportive husbands does help so much but of course, they

will eventually benefit from all this, too. ;-)

>

> However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember

it.

> *next could be the body too

>

Tempting, isn't it? Like, couldn't they just get rid of my pooch

(still there even when I got down to 85 lb) and fix the effects of

nursing two babies while they have me under?

I've rattled on way too long.

[Guest guest]

Hi Shiloh!

Errr! I wrote a long reply last night but somehow the message got

lost. Anyway, in my befuddled mind this morning, I'll try to

remember what I wrote.

> 17 mm! wow talk about taking the jaw travelling!!!

> What an overbite.

Yeah, it was huge. Partly it was from genetics (my mother and my

three year daughter have the same overbite) and partly from the

arthritis in the joints eroding the condyles. My bite was always bad

but it just kept getting worse over the years. Unfortunately when I

was first diagnosed with having TMJ problems as a teenager, the

surgical technology didn't exist yet to fix my bite. If I had had it

done then, then I probably wouldn't have the problems that I have

now. We'll definitely get our daughter's bite fixed as soon as she

has stopped growing. So your daughter also has an overbite, too?

>

> A distractor? That doesn't sound like fun. What is involved in

> that?

It's kind of hard to describe in words but here is a website that

diagrams out the techniques. By the time I had the last surgery, my

condyles looked like somewhere between the class IIa and IIb

diagrams.

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/molina.htm#Distraction%20Technique

The distractors I have are a little different. Most of the device is

under the skin except for the screws. Those are hanging out my

cheeks near the jawline. The screws had to be turned twice a day for

two weeks for a total of 13 mm of distaction. That part was very

painful but now they're just uncomfortable. The first distraction I

went through was to advance the mandible. The surgeon made a cut

through my lower jaw just like he would with a usual BSSO and then

placed the distractor across it where the plates and screws usually

would go. Distraction is usually used for larger movements. My

surgeons have told me they only consider distraction for movements

greater than 10 mm in the lower jaw especially when they would

otherwise need to use a bone graft.

> 2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

The muscle grafts are from the temporalis muscle which is in your

scalp. The surgeon cut out a 1-2 cm piece out of the muscle above my

ear keeping part of it still attached (to keep the blood supply)

just above my earlobe. He then rotated it around into the joint

space. It will scar down and form tissue very similar to cartilage.

A few others here on this site have had the procedure done too with

great success.

>

> Okay I am curious about this soft bone stuff and the distractors.

> Sounds very high tech, you must live in a large urban centre?

Yes, there are not a lot of surgeons in the US who do distraction. I

happened to be lucky and live a few minutes away from the office of

some who do. The procedure was actually pioneered in the former USSR

by Dr Ilizarov over 50 years ago when he didn't have the

more " sophisticated " equipment that we did in the West. He used

distraction (also known as external fixation) to heal long bone

fractures (such as in the arms and legs). The procedure has been

used to lengthen limbs to correct a leg length discrepancy or to

make people with dwarfism taller. Oral and plastic surgeons have

adapted the technique to correct facial anomalies as well.

>

> Upper jaw surgery didn't change my upper facial structure too much.

> Straightening out my upper jaw did straighten out my nose.

> =hmm what do you mean? just the tip? I am trying to figure out

if

> I should do the nose first, I want the chin to be on centre...

> But I know I risk another surgery if they displace my septum again.

My upper jaw had grown down more on one side than the other so it

pulled my nose toward that direction as well. My nose was noticeably

deviated to the right and my nasal passages were very narrow so I

never could breath through my nose. During my upper jaw surgery, the

surgeon brought up one side more than the other to correct the cant.

He also did septoplasty and enlarged my nasal passages by removing

the turbinates (from the back of the nose). Now I can finally breath

through my nose. I have heard of others who also had nasal surgery

at the same time as their jaw surgery and others who were told to

wait until they had healed from their jaw surgery before anything

was done to the nose. I guess it depends on each individual

situation as well the preference of the surgeon. I am very happy

with the way my nose turned out. It doesn't really look different

except that it is straight now and in the midline of my face. I

didn't have to have rhinoplasty since there was nothing wrong with

the size or shape of my nose.

>

> does the part after @ start with aol? in your email?

It's att.net

>

> I was 2 months post partum and my surgeon felt sorry for me

so ...

Two months post-partum? No, you are the hero here. How did you ever

take of your baby and yourself after surgery? My husband had to take

our two and three year old daughters to his parents because it was

too much for me to have them around in the first few weeks post-op.

My two year is too young to understand and she kept wanting to climb

and jump all over me and touch my face. She is very attached to

Mommy and still wants to be held 90% of the time.

> Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

> post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

> So they came out.

What was that like? I would imagine getting the distractors out will

be similar. I'll find out this afternoon when my surgeon wants to

take them out.

My jaw is still a little off but hey I am thirty

> so I figure jaw definition is defn. sliding and it won't be

terribly

> noticeable.

We are our own worst critics. What may seem obvious to us looking in

the mirror, most people don't even notice. Most people are probably

a little assymetric and aren't even aware of it. I'm sure you look

fine even if your bite is still off.

> I broke my face falling down stairs at 14. Its been a long

journey but hopefully it won't last forever.

Ouch! That sounds more painful than any of these surgeries. No, it

won't last forever and I think you're past the worst of it. For me

anyway, upper jaw surgery was much easier than the lower. Less

painful but I didn't have much congestion because of the

turbinectomy. That and I knew what to expect so there were no big

surprises the second time around.

> Now tell me about these distractors, is that easier on the nerve

> damage?

It is easier on the nerves because they are stretched gradually

instead of all at once but I still have numbness I think, because of

the distance involved. There is tingling so I'm sure I'll regain

normal sensation eventually.

I personally think about getting the bsso done again but my

> scar tissue is huge and I almost have full feeling back so its not

> worth it really. But the open bite needs to be fixed. I guess I

> healed at a different angle - or because the screws came out, hard

> to get a surgeon to critique their work. Or it would have been

open

> to begin with and he thought I'd accept that. I can open 2

fingers

> still even with tongue depressors...insert jokes here

Ha-ha! But seriously, why is your opening still so limited? Was your

open bite present immediately after your BSSO or did it develop over

time? Are you having any problems with the TMJ's? Did you have them

evaluated to see if that is contributing to your open bite now or

your limited opening?

>

> But I imagine my upper jaw will be moved back a bit. I keep

teasing

> my dh that he's getting a better model of woman than the one he

> bought. He's really supportive but most people think I am nuts,

> meanwhile I think anyone who wants to live with TMJ or bad bites

> without exploring the options is nuts.

I agree. You're not nuts at all. You're the one who has to live with

the bad bite. It still amazes me how many people think we go through

all this just for cosmetic reasons. I do think I look better now

than I did before all the surgeries but still the reason I did all

this was to be able to eat normally and save my teeth before I did

more damage.

Having supportive husbands does help so much but of course, they

will eventually benefit from all this, too. ;-)

>

> However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember

it.

> *next could be the body too

>

Tempting, isn't it? Like, couldn't they just get rid of my pooch

(still there even when I got down to 85 lb) and fix the effects of

nursing two babies while they have me under?

I've rattled on way too long.

[Guest guest]

Hi Shiloh!

Errr! I wrote a long reply last night but somehow the message got

lost. Anyway, in my befuddled mind this morning, I'll try to

remember what I wrote.

> 17 mm! wow talk about taking the jaw travelling!!!

> What an overbite.

Yeah, it was huge. Partly it was from genetics (my mother and my

three year daughter have the same overbite) and partly from the

arthritis in the joints eroding the condyles. My bite was always bad

but it just kept getting worse over the years. Unfortunately when I

was first diagnosed with having TMJ problems as a teenager, the

surgical technology didn't exist yet to fix my bite. If I had had it

done then, then I probably wouldn't have the problems that I have

now. We'll definitely get our daughter's bite fixed as soon as she

has stopped growing. So your daughter also has an overbite, too?

>

> A distractor? That doesn't sound like fun. What is involved in

> that?

It's kind of hard to describe in words but here is a website that

diagrams out the techniques. By the time I had the last surgery, my

condyles looked like somewhere between the class IIa and IIb

diagrams.

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/molina.htm#Distraction%20Technique

The distractors I have are a little different. Most of the device is

under the skin except for the screws. Those are hanging out my

cheeks near the jawline. The screws had to be turned twice a day for

two weeks for a total of 13 mm of distaction. That part was very

painful but now they're just uncomfortable. The first distraction I

went through was to advance the mandible. The surgeon made a cut

through my lower jaw just like he would with a usual BSSO and then

placed the distractor across it where the plates and screws usually

would go. Distraction is usually used for larger movements. My

surgeons have told me they only consider distraction for movements

greater than 10 mm in the lower jaw especially when they would

otherwise need to use a bone graft.

> 2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

The muscle grafts are from the temporalis muscle which is in your

scalp. The surgeon cut out a 1-2 cm piece out of the muscle above my

ear keeping part of it still attached (to keep the blood supply)

just above my earlobe. He then rotated it around into the joint

space. It will scar down and form tissue very similar to cartilage.

A few others here on this site have had the procedure done too with

great success.

>

> Okay I am curious about this soft bone stuff and the distractors.

> Sounds very high tech, you must live in a large urban centre?

Yes, there are not a lot of surgeons in the US who do distraction. I

happened to be lucky and live a few minutes away from the office of

some who do. The procedure was actually pioneered in the former USSR

by Dr Ilizarov over 50 years ago when he didn't have the

more " sophisticated " equipment that we did in the West. He used

distraction (also known as external fixation) to heal long bone

fractures (such as in the arms and legs). The procedure has been

used to lengthen limbs to correct a leg length discrepancy or to

make people with dwarfism taller. Oral and plastic surgeons have

adapted the technique to correct facial anomalies as well.

>

> Upper jaw surgery didn't change my upper facial structure too much.

> Straightening out my upper jaw did straighten out my nose.

> =hmm what do you mean? just the tip? I am trying to figure out

if

> I should do the nose first, I want the chin to be on centre...

> But I know I risk another surgery if they displace my septum again.

My upper jaw had grown down more on one side than the other so it

pulled my nose toward that direction as well. My nose was noticeably

deviated to the right and my nasal passages were very narrow so I

never could breath through my nose. During my upper jaw surgery, the

surgeon brought up one side more than the other to correct the cant.

He also did septoplasty and enlarged my nasal passages by removing

the turbinates (from the back of the nose). Now I can finally breath

through my nose. I have heard of others who also had nasal surgery

at the same time as their jaw surgery and others who were told to

wait until they had healed from their jaw surgery before anything

was done to the nose. I guess it depends on each individual

situation as well the preference of the surgeon. I am very happy

with the way my nose turned out. It doesn't really look different

except that it is straight now and in the midline of my face. I

didn't have to have rhinoplasty since there was nothing wrong with

the size or shape of my nose.

>

> does the part after @ start with aol? in your email?

It's att.net

>

> I was 2 months post partum and my surgeon felt sorry for me

so ...

Two months post-partum? No, you are the hero here. How did you ever

take of your baby and yourself after surgery? My husband had to take

our two and three year old daughters to his parents because it was

too much for me to have them around in the first few weeks post-op.

My two year is too young to understand and she kept wanting to climb

and jump all over me and touch my face. She is very attached to

Mommy and still wants to be held 90% of the time.

> Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

> post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

> So they came out.

What was that like? I would imagine getting the distractors out will

be similar. I'll find out this afternoon when my surgeon wants to

take them out.

My jaw is still a little off but hey I am thirty

> so I figure jaw definition is defn. sliding and it won't be

terribly

> noticeable.

We are our own worst critics. What may seem obvious to us looking in

the mirror, most people don't even notice. Most people are probably

a little assymetric and aren't even aware of it. I'm sure you look

fine even if your bite is still off.

> I broke my face falling down stairs at 14. Its been a long

journey but hopefully it won't last forever.

Ouch! That sounds more painful than any of these surgeries. No, it

won't last forever and I think you're past the worst of it. For me

anyway, upper jaw surgery was much easier than the lower. Less

painful but I didn't have much congestion because of the

turbinectomy. That and I knew what to expect so there were no big

surprises the second time around.

> Now tell me about these distractors, is that easier on the nerve

> damage?

It is easier on the nerves because they are stretched gradually

instead of all at once but I still have numbness I think, because of

the distance involved. There is tingling so I'm sure I'll regain

normal sensation eventually.

I personally think about getting the bsso done again but my

> scar tissue is huge and I almost have full feeling back so its not

> worth it really. But the open bite needs to be fixed. I guess I

> healed at a different angle - or because the screws came out, hard

> to get a surgeon to critique their work. Or it would have been

open

> to begin with and he thought I'd accept that. I can open 2

fingers

> still even with tongue depressors...insert jokes here

Ha-ha! But seriously, why is your opening still so limited? Was your

open bite present immediately after your BSSO or did it develop over

time? Are you having any problems with the TMJ's? Did you have them

evaluated to see if that is contributing to your open bite now or

your limited opening?

>

> But I imagine my upper jaw will be moved back a bit. I keep

teasing

> my dh that he's getting a better model of woman than the one he

> bought. He's really supportive but most people think I am nuts,

> meanwhile I think anyone who wants to live with TMJ or bad bites

> without exploring the options is nuts.

I agree. You're not nuts at all. You're the one who has to live with

the bad bite. It still amazes me how many people think we go through

all this just for cosmetic reasons. I do think I look better now

than I did before all the surgeries but still the reason I did all

this was to be able to eat normally and save my teeth before I did

more damage.

Having supportive husbands does help so much but of course, they

will eventually benefit from all this, too. ;-)

>

> However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember

it.

> *next could be the body too

>

Tempting, isn't it? Like, couldn't they just get rid of my pooch

(still there even when I got down to 85 lb) and fix the effects of

nursing two babies while they have me under?

I've rattled on way too long.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Wow that is what I thought distraction meant but I didn't think they

did that often because of visible scars?

My daughter has an overbite - thanks to her grandmother's 5 dollar a

day don't bother brushing your teeth summer....

I thought with my surgical hooks I looked like 7of9, but did people

get a little freaked out by the frankenstien bolts?

How did the distractor affect your teeth or was it too far back?

> 2 Muscle grafts/ where did they grab that one from?

The muscle grafts are from the temporalis muscle which is in your

scalp. The surgeon cut out a 1-2 cm piece out of the muscle above my

ear keeping part of it still attached (to keep the blood supply)

just above my earlobe. He then rotated it around into the joint

space. It will scar down and form tissue very similar to cartilage.

A few others here on this site have had the procedure done too with

great success.

=so they used muscle to create psuedo cartilage? Facinating.

My upper jaw had grown down more on one side than the other so it

pulled my nose toward that direction as well. My nose was noticeably

deviated to the right and my nasal passages were very narrow so I

never could breath through my nose.

+I think I might get the bones and septum done before the surgery

and maybe if the tip needs any refining (rhinoplasty) get it done

then as what you are saying makes sense and if it ends up crooked on

the bottom then.....

Two months post-partum? No, you are the hero here.

=oh did I mention my surgeon refused to give me a script for pain

killers or steriods....funny enough I didn't need more than straight

tylenol.

How did you ever take of your baby and yourself after surgery?

=actually the two month old well they are pretty much still baby

potatoes then, not grabbing too hard or trying to swat your face.

My husband had to take

our two and three year old daughters to his parents because it was

too much for me to have them around in the first few weeks post-op.

=lol a two and three year old are too much! I only felt badly that

my baby really didn't year my voice for a bit.

My two year is too young to understand and she kept wanting to climb

and jump all over me and touch my face. She is very attached to

Mommy and still wants to be held 90% of the time.

=yeah I have a mama's boy this time. He's a 'insomniac' not really

but compared to the nine year old who still sleeps 11 hours a night,

mister 8 hours in total all day drives me batty - his father only

does 4 on a regular day......

> Surgery 2 was to have screws removed. I think because of all the

> post partum hormones I healed too quickly and unscrewed my screws.

> So they came out.

What was that like? I would imagine getting the distractors out will

be similar. I'll find out this afternoon when my surgeon wants to

take them out.

We are our own worst critics. What may seem obvious to us looking in

the mirror, most people don't even notice. Most people are probably

a little assymetric and aren't even aware of it. I'm sure you look

fine even if your bite is still off.

=actually I think we all are, I've been watching the cnn faces,

partly because half of them have invested in their faces and most of

them are a little wonky.

Yeah I feel like I have my vet status in oral surgery. The purple

jaw? I am alot more prepared for the next one(s).

Ha-ha! But seriously, why is your opening still so limited? Was your

open bite present immediately after your BSSO or did it develop over

time? Are you having any problems with the TMJ's? Did you have them

evaluated to see if that is contributing to your open bite now or

your limited opening?

=open bite there right after but I ignored it! I also over babied

my jaw. So I went from surgery 1 to braces off and surgery 2 boom.

So the adjustment to full function was never expected to be made,

then I started to get a little worried thinking it was a relapse.

But realised it really wasn't. The second ortho (fiddlesticks')

said that the open bite brought my back teeth together so like a

wedge once they touched they can't open more...I was offered to have

my teeth ground but they are micros at 5mm tall, so 3mm would have

left me with what?

I agree. You're not nuts at all. You're the one who has to live with

the bad bite. It still amazes me how many people think we go through

all this just for cosmetic reasons.

=yeah lol. But silicone breasts are for self esteem

I do think I look better now

than I did before all the surgeries but still the reason I did all

this was to be able to eat normally and save my teeth before I did

more damage.

Having supportive husbands does help so much but of course, they

will eventually benefit from all this, too. ;-)

=lol my husband would feel more benefit if I could stretch it more

than 20mm

> However I am anxious to have my face put back the way I remember

it.

> *next could be the body too

>

Tempting, isn't it? Like, couldn't they just get rid of my pooch

(still there even when I got down to 85 lb) and fix the effects of

nursing two babies while they have me under?

=no kidding first baby for me one tiny stretch mark - ONE! Second...

well I put on a few pounds trying to get pregant then quit working

while I was pregnant stopped my narcolepsy meds so I slept all the

time and worked my way or rather weigh into a 48 pound weight gain.

Otherwise known as my myth of the 200 pound woman I was well over

200 pounds by the time I delivered the easter turkey (ten and a half

pounds and 23 inches) not a diabetic either! I realised how many

women who claimed to be 200 were probably closer to three. My brief

pit stop at fat. So having breastfed for 44 months of my life...and

yes the pouch...however I have plans for that when I am all done

with the Bate family breeding programme...then I am going to have

the leaky bladder lifted, the tubes tied, a tummy tuck complete with

those muscles sewn up tight and a pani ;)And since the breasts are

no longer needed for production then a full lift and reduction right

beside my thyriod up touching my neck

Ah the wish list...once the skin is gone its gone.

Shiloh