Standard Disclaimer : What my surgeon says is good/bad for me, may be entirely different for someone else depending on their situation. Please check with your medical professional!
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QUESTIONS
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ANSWERS
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Will I be banded shut (with elastics) or wired shut? Is
there a difference between the two types?
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Yes, there is a difference. Getting “wired” shut is
becoming less and less common. Now that they use screws and plates to
stabilize the jaw, actually wiring the jaw closed is not necessary. So in
answer, I will be banded shut with surgical rubber bands.
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How long will the surgery take?
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Surgery is booked for 5.5 hours (not as long as what I
was originally quoted but damn).
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How long will I be under anesthesia? What type of
anesthesia will be used on me?
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I will be asleep for the entire procedure. And they
will be performing general anesthesia
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How long will I be in the hospital for?
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I will spend 1 overnight in the hospital. I should be
able to go home on Tuesday, Oct. 27th so long as there are no complications.
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What type of unit will I be admitted to after surgery?
ICU/Post-Operative Unit/Plastics Unit?
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I will be admitted to wherever there is space. There is
no floor specific to my type of operation. I’ll probably be placed on a
general patient unit. Potentially a post-surgical unit but maybe not.
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Will family be able to visit me?
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Family can visit me after I wake up from surgery. Might
be a few hours after my surgery is done.
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Will I have a private room? Not comfortable sharing a
room with a total stranger, especially when communication might be an issue.
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Private rooms cost extra. Usually around $400/night. If
I don’t want to pay extra, I’ll probably have 1 roommate.
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Are there any downsides to my type of surgery? Are
there any risks involved? If yes, what are they?
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Risks include infection, bodily rejection of the
surgical materials (aka the plates and screws) loss of feeling in the face
(delicate nerves in the face get upset once you touch and prod at them -
feeling comes back slowly but in rare cases, it doesn’t), unsightly
appearance, loss of teeth (highly rare) and a few others I forget.
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Are there any limitations immediately after surgery?
Will I be able to talk?
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The first day will be rough. General
gross ickyness that comes with coming out of surgery. I will definitely feel
weak and the first week will be hard. I will be able to talk but I won't want
to.
(Verified w/ Dr. Klein)
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Will this surgery affect other facial areas
(Ear/Nose/Throat)? Will I have airway/hearing changes after surgery?
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There’s potentially that there could be
airway changes, especially with the nose.
**After surgery, I did end up getting a deviated septum due to this surgery. Found out later that this is a lot more common than my surgeon made it out to be ** |
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I've heard that I may have the sensation of numbness
after surgery. If I experience this, how long will it take to get all feeling
back? Is it common for people to not regain feeling?
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There will be numbness, especially the
jaw, nose and chin. Depending on the person, most people get some feeling
back within a few weeks to a few months. Most people have full feeling return
after a year.
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What are the surgical materials used in surgery? Will I
have plates and screws? If yes, what is the material made of? Will I ever
need to have it replaced later in life?
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There will be plates and screws, using
surgical steel. It should never need replacing.
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Will I have any external scarring? If yes, where and
how much?
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No external scarring (yay!) the procedure is done
through the inside of the mouth so I will have lots of stitches (yuck). I
will have a breathing tube through my nose since they won’t be able to
intubate me.
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What type of anti-nausea medication will I be on?
Zofran? Reglan? Decadron? (all brand name nausea medications) Will I be able
to continue to be on that medication after I leave the hospital? I get
extremely nauseous on most pain medications. Throwing up after my jaw surgery
would be horrible. Definitely don't want to vomit.
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Compazine, Zofran are both commonly used
preoperatively. If I am concerned with nausea after I leave the hospital, I
can always have the doctor write me a prescription.
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What other medications will I be on post-surgery?
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Liquid pain killer, liquid stool softener (for
constipation, prolonged pain killer use can make you very constipated).
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What is discharge like? What time can I expect to go
home?
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Discharge can be tricky. Typically, Doctors like to get
people discharged by 10am. However, things unexpectedly pop up either with
another patient having issues or the doctor getting interrupted. Sometimes, a
patient can’t be discharged because they are waiting for their ride home.
Basically, it depends daily.
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Do I take my medications the morning of surgery?
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Don’t need to take meds the morning of. The only thing
I’m on is lisinopril (blood pressure pill). They don’t want your bp to go too
low during surgery. It’s easy to fix high bp, harder to fix low bp.
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How long does it take on average to fully recover from
this procedure?
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Typically, 8-10 weeks to return to normal
activities. Most patients feel “normal” after roughly 6 months of recovery.
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Will I need to go to physical therapy or will I be able
to perform this myself at home? If I need PT, how long will I need it for?
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I will need to do PT but it is simple
enough that I’ll be able to perform the exercises myself at home.
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How many post-op appointments will I need? 1 Week? 3
Weeks? 6 Weeks? 3 Months?
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Post Op appointments are as follows:
7 days post-op, 3 weeks post-op, 6 weeks
post-op. Wellness exams at 4 month post-op and again after braces are
removed.
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How soon after surgery can I have a dental cleaning? Is
there anything my general dentist should do differently after I've had this
procedure?
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6 weeks.
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When can I start brushing/flossing my teeth again? Do I
need a special toothbrush? When will I be able to use my mechanical
toothbrush again?
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Once range of motion comes back, you can
switch to a normal adult toothbrush. You can floss as soon as you feel able,
typically after the 4 week mark.
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Will I need to be on chlorhexidine mouthwash?
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It was not listed in my chart with anesthesia but there
is a possibility I’ll be on it.
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Will I have to have my regular medication compounded
into a liquid? I am normally on Lisinopril and a birth control pill.
Lisinopril can be crushed and placed on apple sauce but I may not be able to
even eat apple sauce the first couple weeks of recovery.
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You will be able to open your mouth
enough to swallow a small pill. Anything larger, you will need it to either
be crushed or made into a solution.
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Will my teeth be sensitive after surgery?
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Teeth will initially be numb. Eventually,
numbness will subside but they shouldn’t be sensitive.
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Is there any kind of recovery maintenance? Will I be
required to change elastics or anything like that?
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If I need elastics changed, Dr. Keith should be able to
perform that for me until I am fully recovered. (Verified w/ Dr. Klein)
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How long will I be on a liquid diet?
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Depends on how I heal. Most patients are
on a strict liquid diet for at least 7-14 days.
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When can I start soft foods? Any soft foods I should
avoid?
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Avoid things with seeds. Seeds get easily stuck in the
braces and stitches and may cause infection.
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I like to maintain a semi-active lifestyle. How long do
I have to wait before being active again? Things like: walking the dog, bike
riding, volley ball
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It will take about 6 weeks before I can do any kind of
exercise. After a couple weeks, I may go on dog walks but not actually hold
the leash.
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Will I need any other surgeries? If yes, what is it
called and how will it benefit my condition to make it better?
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Depending on how things progress, I
shouldn’t require any additional surgeries. Only surgery that I may need
after would be Septoplasty for deviated septum (which I in fact did need).
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Will I be able to wear a regular retainer after my
braces come off? Will I need to have a permanent retainer?
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I will be fitted for 2 retainers after my braces come
off. Both a Hawley retainer (that traditional wire retainer) and a clear
aligner retainer (similar to an invisalign tray). I won’t need to have a
permanent retainer installed! :D (Verified w/ Dr. Klein)
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Will I still grind my teeth at night? Will I need to be
fitted for a night guard after the braces come off? Will that interfere with
my retainers? Will a night guard harm my new bite?
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Teeth grinding may still occur. Have Dr.
Klein have one of your retainers made into a night guard so that things don’t
move around after the braces come off.
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Do I need to sleep sitting up? So long as I don’t sleep
directly on my face, can I sleep lying down?
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For the first week or so, you may need to
sleep sitting in a chair/recliner. After the first week, 1-2 extra pillows
should do it.
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How much weight should I expect to lose?
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15 -20 pounds but nothing more than that.
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I usually snore at night. Will this operation change
this at all? Make it better/worse?
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Snoring shouldn’t become worse. It may
continue though.
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