Posted by sleepy-in-seattle on March 31, 2008 at 14:00:24:In Reply to: My MMA/GA Experience posted by goldfish on March 27, 2008 at 10:54:37:
Excellent post! And congrats on the life-changing results.
Interesting that you had a lot of pain. Most people are so profoundly numb that there is little sharp pain (I had a lot of dull pain, but easily controlled with vicodin and liquid Tylenol). By the time they regain feeling, the pain is greatly lessened. Did you experience the typical numbness of the face, gums and palate?
I agree with the active recovery. My surgeon also recommended this - no excessive sleeping, keep doing something, take short forays outside to help build a routine and stamina.
You mention an "ape-like" look. What do you mean by that? I know for me, I was mostly happy with the change, since it added a pleasing lower jaw area to what had been a receding jawline. The only thing I was displeased about was that the area between my upper lip and nose (the maxillary area) looks ever so slightly pushed out. Is this the area that changed for you?
I know that if my advancement had been parallel, I would have looked odder - but my maxilla was 7 mm and my mandible was 12mm. This was only possible due to extensive orthdontic work (they made my bite worse so it would end up perfect after surgery).
If it is a flattened nose, then there is plenty of common plastic surgery to take care of that if it is an issue for you.
Thanks for posting your experiences - this helps so many!