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Posted by seattlebill on December 18, 2006 at 07:49:08:In Reply to: MMA surgery what are the Risks posted by cpapdoesnothelp on December 15, 2006 at 20:33:21:
Well...
OK...two distinct questions.
1) The physical risks of an MMA. 2)The cosmetic risk of an MMA.
1) The general risks of an MMA (any MMA) include infection, bleeding, dental mal-occlusion, permanent paresthesias (numbness of the face), nasal anomalies. Catastrophic risks (that rarely occur...and happen less than 0.01%) include loss of airway, dangerous bleeding, heart attack, and, of course death. These are generalized risks that can happen with any major surgery...and are definitely more pronounced as you add other major health problems when you come into surgery (like existing heart disease, diabetes,true morbid obesity, age over 60, etc...).
Specifically being a "redo", there is no doubt that your operation will be a bit more complex (to one degree or another), will take longer, and your blood loss (depending on how technically difficult it is) may be increased. Furthermore, the odds of minor complications or issues (nerve stretching, dental mal-occlusion, etc...) will likewise be increased to some degree.
2) Cosmetically your risks are in your hands and in your surgeons' hands. Dumb answer, you may think...but not really...
Most of us have turned to this procedure in utter desperation!!! None of us wanted to have our face altered or go through this major under-taking without being forced to by our circumstances.
The decision in large part is ultimately yours.
You must find someone who is confident that they can help you to a good result. An expert that you have vetted...that you feel confident in. (Search MikeinBoston for vetting secrets.) And then, quite frankly, you must place yourself in his/her hands...or not.
No surgeon at any major sleep surgery center is lacking for business, cases, or money. Many are too busy! And, fortunately, those are the guys who are best capable of handling your case! They will not operate on you for the sake of needing money...nor will they take you on and risk liability needlessly.
No pixilated computerized imaging program is 100% accurate. And, actually, they are in my opinion inaccurate and meant to reassure people...not offer image choices. Many of us who have gone through this can attest to the fact that we haven't been disfigured or have had our aesthetics badly compromised. However, we all have had changes in our appearance...and some people grieve for their former appearance...but this is offset by the improvement that we feel that we've had in our health. Furthermore, if someone was greatly disturbed by any outcome...you'd see posts about it here (I think Summer was an example...who had some plastic surgery afterward to her nose, but still was happy with the physiologic outcomes of her surgery). Moreso than many positive outcomes who ultimately will disappear off the radar.
In the end...after you've decided whether someone can help you...and that you trust them with the operation. You, and only you must decide and balance whether or not you will accept changes to your facial architecture and aesthetics to alleviate your symptoms. If you are trully miserable and this can be a cure (as judged by the experts), then you should do it...do it to live a longer and healthier life!!!
Of course, the other option is a permanent trach...but that has it's own set of major medical and cosmetic issues.
Hope this helps...
Bill
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