Posted by seattlebill on June 17, 2008 at 13:35:10:In Reply to: MMA disaster posted by sleepdeprived on June 17, 2008 at 08:33:29:
I can say that we all feel badly for you, and for these miserable series of events that have plagued you.
I've heard of this happen before. A malunion in the maxilla is more common than in the mandible because the bone is thinner there. Particularly in those with delicate bone structure to begin with. Having your hardware out just sealed the deal in your case.
You do have a MAJOR advantage here though. You are young and healthy (no, I'm really not kidding). You and your tissues will heal quickly and you are much more resilient than someone who is twice your age !
In prioritizing, my suggestion would be as Leriann suggested..."ask the surgeon". However, my guess is that most people will want to stabilize your jaw structure before performing any other procedures in your mouth of any sort. Yes, 6 weeks of a liquid diet is insane, but it needs to be done at some point...correct ?
I know the thought of it is hard to take, but I really think that step one will be to restabilize your maxilla.
Another thought is that you might be eligible for a GA procedure, which can be done at the same time as the re-stabilization. This will advance the base of your tongue forward and may obviate tongue reduction procedures. I don't think that most other surgeons would combine other procedures beyond that though...
Best wishes,
Bill