Guest guest Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Hiya Suzy, I had lower jaw surgery to fix my underbite, so I had my jaw brought back a few mm, rather than brought forward (as it sounds like you would have done). So I'm not sure of the technical details of your op im afraid.. but I'll tell you what I can. I had to wear braces for about a year before my teeth were in the right position for surgery. They had to be moved about so they would fit together nicely after the op. I actually had to have my underbite made worse (i dont know why!) maybe it wasnt bad enough for surgery at first, I dont know! The time in braces flew by so fast. I'm from the UK, so I was able to have my surgery FREE on the national health service! good eh?! im so lucky, i read on this message board what you have to pay in America and im shocked! So the surgeon didn't really have the time or technology to show me pics of what I'd look like afterwards. But if your paying for your surgery you might get those kind of extra things. I trusted my surgeon so much (thats really important) He was really funny, made me laugh, and was very reassuring. He was also really really experienced so I was happy and felt I was in safe hands! I'm 18days post-op today, and my swelling is almost nothing now. Everyone swells differently apparently. If you just have lower jaw surgery then the swelling is supposed to be less with upper jaw surgery. The nurses said I was more swollen than most people when I was in hospital... i just avoided mirrors for a few days! so i'll never know what I looked like! I went swimming yesterday, which was nice. I didn't get any funny stares so my swelling can't be that obvious. I'm able to eat better every day. Yesterday I had a packet of crisps!! (granted, I had to wait for each crisp to melt on my tongue before swallowing, because chewing is still difficult!) I'm basically living off yogurt and soup and mashed up fruits. I reckon I could eat more things if I tried, but I like the weight loss!! So i might keep the liquid diet up for a bit!! I can open my mouth about 2 fingers wide. But, as with the chewing and swelling, its getting better every day. Your other question was about age. Apparently you can heal faster the younger you are. That's just what I've read on here, its something to ask your surgeon to be sure. Overall, I think you should go for it! I can't begin to describe how exciting it it to have a new smile and bite! I'm so happy with it, I can't wait to show it off. The whole surgery experience wasn't half as bad I imagined it would be (i read some awful horror stories on here!). I've had no pain at all, no sickness. Maybe I'm just a lucky one, but I really think attitude has something to do with it. I've kept a positive attidude and I've had my mum and my brothers making me laugh all the time. The support of your family is also really important. You need someone to sympathise with you and make you soup! I hope I can eat properly by the 25th Feb, I'm going for an interview to get into a posh accountany degree course! and the all the corporate people are taking me (and some other applicants) out for a meal in the evening!! It will be really embarrasing if i have to ask for my pasta to be liquidized! I hope I've helped you, if you have any more questions just ask! Keep me updated with what you decide to do, Love Sara > > > hi guys! i had orthognathic surgery 13 days ago, and it was no > way > > as > > > bad as i imagined it would be. I had lower jaw surgery to reduce > my > > > underbite (by 6mm). My splint was taken out yesterday, and im > > soooooo > > > happy with the results! It has definitely been worth all the > > swelling > > > and time off school. Although im still a tiny bit swollen and > > > brusied, its going down really fast and i hope to go back to > school > > > very soon. I had no pain through the whole thing, and felt > > completly > > > normal after 3 days - the worst bit of the whole thing was the > > > swelling and that i could cope with (by avoiding mirrors!!). To > > > anyone who's thinking of having the surgery, i seriously > seriously > > > reccomend it.. i cant stop looking at my new bite, and having 2 > > weeks > > > off school was a small sacrifice to pay to have my underbite gone > > > forever! i can now smile with confidence!! its the best feeling > in > > > the world! so if you are considering surgery.. GO FOR IT!!! x > > > > Dear > > Congratulations!! > > I totally agree with you. I was also amazed how I started to feel > > like myself after a couple of days. I am 10 days post-op and I am > > also sooo happy with the results. Ihad a movement of 3mms and a > > lateral movement to correct a crooked overbite of the lower jaw. My > > Dr preferred wiring for six wks as opposed to oral fixiation. To me > > the worst part is being wired another 4 1/2 wks. In the long range > it > > is a small price to pay for finally having a great smile more > > functional bite and a beautiful new profile. Most of my swelling > has > > gone down so I am loving the results. It makes you realize that all > > those fears you carry around are wasted energy. So many people have > > major physical things they hate about themselves but they have too > > much fear to fix it. For me this has been liberating to totally fix > > my bite. I am with you girl. I highly recommend this surgery. I > can't > > wait to start smiling at the world. > > Best of Luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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