Posted by Buggy on February 26, 2008 at 05:02:04:In Reply to: Buggy? - Mayo update posted by NoDozer on February 19, 2008 at 12:35:47:
NoDozer,
hey there once again.. Good to hear you found a surgeon that you feel comfortable with.
As far as how i'm doing post surgery i'm doing quite well. My swelling is almost all gone. My left jaw muscle is still being a little stubborn but i've been really slacking on my stretching- so i'm not gaining much more movement in my
jaw. I should have about 6mm more than what i currently have. Measure your opening and write it down beforehand. I don't know if Dr V measured my jaw opening beforehand..
I've lost 20lbs since the surgery which puts me at my ideal weight. I'm eating whatever i want and am not gaining any weight back. I am eating better, exercising and sleeping very good. I feel very fortunate to have the results that i'm having since the surgery.
I've regained probably 70% sensitivity in both chin and lower lip and have feeling in 100% of the chin/lip area. My forward upper teeth and gums are kinda numb/wooden feeling. never bothers me one bit just kinda weird- this seems to be slowly healing.My speech is so so at the moment. I have braces on and before the surgery my teeth/braces weren't putting much pressure on my lips. now that both jaws are 10-12mm farther forward my lips get stuck on my braces and it's even kinda hard to smile sometimes. My lower lip is still kinda goofy somedays with forming certain words-- words which start with f's, v's and s's can be a challenge.
The internal incisions healed so well that you can barely see them. It's almost impossible to tell any thing was done in there:-) the only real scaring i have is from when my cheeks were very swollen and numb my teeth kinda chewed them up leaving small scars next to my molars
As far as appearance goes i'm happy with the outcome. 10mm can be a long way- especially on your upper jaw. Your cheeks may be rounder than before and your nose can change. My nose looks better post surgery. i liked my nose before surgery and was pretty nervous about it changing for the worse. My cheeks seem to still be a little swollen, or that's just the way they're going to be. They just look a little 'fuller' than before. Dr. V warned me about this and told me this would happen with my face/cheek structure.I am still on the fence about my chin not being advanced. I'm going to wait to see how everything heals and get my braces off before making a final decision on that.
after having this procedure done i can pass on what i would be most concerned about. Not necessarily in this order.
1. nerve damage- this would suck.
2. teeth- how are they going to fit after everything has been moved and healed up. I was thinking about this after the surgery. My jaw muscles were so tight after surgery that it pulled my lower jaw and teeth 'back' and made it look out of position. As my jaw muscles loosened up my jaw moved back into position. I"m only talking about a few mm but if i wouldn't of had braces on i would of been very concerned at the time.
3. of course appearance. Hey-- it's your face. It did bother me at first that my face was different. I quickly overcame this though. It could be a big issue though.
4. Speech.
5. money. My insurance won't pay for 12k of the surgery. Even though they said my max was 3k out of pocket. Oh well. fyi, the surgery was pretty dang expensive so get your insurance sorted.
Now for my disclaimer. I'm just telling you my experience with Dr. V and the mayo. I am in no way trying to sway you towards him or the mayo. Good luck with your decision on where to go.
I do have a few questions for you.
HOw many surgeons have you had consults with?
Did you go to cali for a consult? I'm just curious on the difference between them and the mayos consultation procedure.
How far did Dr. V say he'd advance you?
What about the GA?
whew!! i better shut up..
b uggy
- Re: Buggy? - Mayo update NoDozer 13:43 2/28/08 (0)