Posted by Captin Cannuck on April 28, 2008 at 15:34:27:In Reply to: MMA Scheduled posted by NoDozer on April 28, 2008 at 11:33:50:
I think that this surgery is usually successful. As you point out, there are varying degrees of success, but most people improve to some degree or another with most of them improving significantly. There have been some posters who have posted that they were unhappy with MMA. I know of one poster who became worse after MMA, but that poster said that many soft tissue surgeries including a LAUP were performed at the same time, and that his surgeon had made errors in judgement during the procedure.
Generally speaking, MMA is almost always successful. Success is a relative term. For some it is a reduction of 50% in apnea events, in others higher (60, 70, 80,90 percent reduction etc.). Some very lucky people are even "cured" with an AHI below 5.0. That scenario is possible but not likely. In my opinion, the risk to benefit profile of MMA is good. Most people do not get worse. Most get better. The pain is not unbearable. You will be in pain for a few days. Basically, you will have a broken jaw. They will give you heavy duty pain killers like Dilaudid, Naproxin etc. You will be just fine.
The most likely source of dissatisfaction with MMA will be cosmetic in nature. You will look different to some degree. Some posters say that they are dissatisfied with their looks. As for me, I look much the same as before. I feel satisfied with my looks.
It is your call, and I truly respect your decision, but I encourage you to go for it. If I had to do it all over again, I would do so. Interestingly, my surgeon is an academic who wrote a paper in a medical journal. He wrote on a group of 20 individuals who had had MMA. All of them improved. He asked them the question "if given a second chance, would you do MMA again?". 19/20 people (95%) said "yes, I would."
I think that the worst case scenario for you in terms of breathing would be that you would have to go back on CPAP again. So what? If you did go back on CPAP again, you would have a wider airway to work with. A wider airway is less prone to collapse, and CPAP would work even better.
Hope that helps.
Best of luck whatever you do. BTW, there is no shame in turning down a surgery if you don't feel right with it. If it comes down to something that your gut tells you is not right, then walk away. If you gut tells you that it is good, but you feel nervous, then approach it step by step. It will be like jumping off a high diving board. Put one foot in front of the other. Climb up on the table and suck in the gas. Your doctors will take good care of you. Trust them. It will be over before you know it, and odds are overwhelming that you will be better off.