Monday, September 8, 2008

I met Dr. P in his office this morning at 6:15. He refit me with the wax impression we did of my bite, and everything looked good. He then fit me once again with the face-bow, and had me once again look into the horizon. He explained that studies have shown that if a patient moves there head up and down several times, and is then asked to look into the horizon, there is only a couple degree variation, statistically a very accurate measurment. This time he had me look into my reflection so I could see my eyes, and we did it several times, and it appears that this may have been the problem, that I possibly was not holding my head completely "horizontal" when we originally did the face-bow. He has done many surgeries, and this is the first time this has happened. He was happy, however, that the error was with the face-bow, not the x-ray, because if it was with the x-ray we would have had to reschedule my surgery because they have to start over. With the face-bow, as long as they know what the true measurements are on the x-ray, they can work with it.

I mentioned to him that I had been sick but was getting over it. He said that I should see how I feel tomorrow, he wants my immune system to be at 100%, this surgery is hard enough to recover from as it is, and you don't want to add a compromised immune system into that mix. I think I'll be fine, I still have a bit of a cough and a little drainage, but it has made leaps and bounds every day.

I had a dream last night that my surgery was cancelled. Not because of the whole face-bow/x-ray issue, but other issues. I was at the hospital, and a ton of people showed up from my work to support me. Dr. P then came in and made an announcement to everyone that after further review, they could not fix my bite surgically, only orthodontically with a compromised result. Needless to say, I was crushed. Luckily, I woke up.

In other news ... it appears I won't need the genioplasty. So good news there ...

Less than 24 hours and I will be in surgery.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stephanie:
Good luck tomorrow--I am so glad all turned out well at the surgeon's--that is so great your doc is as conscientious as he is. You are in good hands, and this is great news about the genioplasty. Thank you for posting the nitty gritty about the measurement
conundrum your surgeon faced. I say this because that way, when it comes time for my surgery, I will
know what to expect. Take care, and thank you for sharing all the preop preparations that you did.
Julie (bimax surg expected sometime in2009).

Katherine (Kate) said...

Ahhhh...big sigh of relief on that front, and crazy (yet Oh-so-cool) how the littlest thing DOES matter.

Very good news that you won't be adding the genio on top of everything else!

Hope your brain (and dreams-yikes!) let you get a good night's rest in prep for tomorrow's big day.

Much peace, swift recovery and happy healing to you: Look forward to hearing from you from the great beyond :)

Daniel said...

Stephanie, that is such good news! I am very excited for you. Also good to know about the genioplasty. Apparently the way they do the BSSO now often makes the genioplasty unneccessary, so faster healing in that area and less swelling for you! You will do great in surgery, no need to worry. I look forward to hearing from you, post-operation :o)

holski said...

good luck tomorrow Stephanie! I'm looking forward to your return home. =)

Kam said...

GOOD LUCK!!!
I hope your surgery goes smoothly and you have a fast recovery! *big hugs*

Grace said...

I know what those terrible dreams can be like...I've had them for over 3 months leading up to my surgery b/c of insurance, than b/c of OR scheduling conflicts...
...but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! You'll be great!
I was supposed to get a genio too, but it was pushed out of the plans just before my surgery, and I'm quite happy now. I mean, my chin can be bigger, but I still bump it on shoulders when I hug, etc...so whatever bit of extension the BSSO did, is enough. And functionality is the main thing. :)

Make sure to eat things like avocados and add some butter into your diet soon after the surgery...like a little dab in warm soup before you whirl it in the blender, to help w/ calorie consumption. Set a calorie minimum goal for yourself and start eating early enough in the day so you can get to that 1000 Cal. mark, or whatever, by the time you go back to sleep. And start to take a fiber supplement about a week after the surgery b/c veggies are hard to eat...I'm at 5 months post-op now and I still can't go for a salad...:( and I'm a bunny
Good luck!

Grace said...

oh, and remember that straws are deceptively painful and possibly detrimental.
my ICU nurse gave me a straw to drink water out of and I was failing miserably when my OS walked in and snatched it from my cup and threw it out....a terrible way to drink w/ stitches. :) I'm very excited for you, so keep your spirits up!

laura said...

Good luck!!! It'll be done now, hope you're feeling ok.

I didn't realize the doctor practiced before the surgery, but of course he would. I bet that's what they take the pre-surgery molds for.