Plate Removal Successful ...

I am back home, everything went very well, in fact I believe I was awake for most of the procedure and remember most of it, but felt nothing. I had to stop on the way home for my antibiotics, but at this point no pain and no swelling as far as I can tell. Hopefully it will stay that way! I have to be on the Peridex another 2 weeks which is when I will see him next, and hopefully after that I can schedule a cleaning!

I forgot to mention yesterday on my post that when I run my fingers along my lower jaw line on both sides, I can feel the gaps from where they advanced my jaw! He took another x ray today after the plate removal and I am down to 7 plates now, 39 screws. The sutures should disolve much more quickly this time, within a week or so. I am hoping I will be feeling this well later when the IV sedation wears off ... so far a piece of cake!

Plate Removal Tomorrow and Before and After Pics

I thought since I will be puffed up tomorrow on my left side from my plate removal procedure, I should put some before and after photos from the month before surgery to 12 weeks post-op. You can really see a difference in my nose. I think there is still some swelling in my nose because my nostrals are uneven, so it will be interesting to see how things settle out. You can also see a big difference in my lip incompetence, no more gummy smile, and a more defined profile.

Lately I have been getting a lot of food stuck in between my last two molars on my upper right side. The other day, I took a toothpick and usually the end would tightly wedge in between the two teeth. Well, I forgot about the coil that was creating a gap in between the two teeth, so the toothpick went right in and stabbed me. I put my tongue up there and a siqeable gap has opened up. So, that's good news. I have also been flossing for the last few weeks ... I can feel the floss in between my lower teeth, but I can't in between my upper teeth. If my teeth have even a tiny gap between them so the floss doesn't "click" between them, I keep putting pressure waiting to hear the click, and then realize that the floss is already on my gums. They don't bleed, though, I think because the surgery cut off the blood supply and all of those blood vessels have not reconnected and regenerated yet.

My lower incisors have dark stain marks on them from the Peridex. I am hoping things heal up quickly from my plate removal so I can go in and have a cleaning. Hopefully I won't have to keep taking it. That would be a great Christmas present, my pearly whites back!!

I'll post an update after tomorrow's procedure ...

Pics - 10.5 Weeks Post Op

It's hard to believe, over 10 weeks since surgery. Here are my pics from today ...

Plate Removal Scheduled

I saw my OS on Thursday. He asked me how soft chew was going, I said good ... I can just about eat anything as long as it is small enough to get between my teeth. No pain what-so-ever. That's what we were waiting for to remove the plate. Everything appears to be solid, plus I will still have the other plate that will still be in the side they remove it from, so there shouldn't be any risk of relapse. He will also cut away some of the over growth from my cheek at the same time so i am not chewing on my cheek.

I scheduled to have it removed on Thursday, December 4th. I was hoping to do it on a Friday so I had the weekend to recover, but that didn't work out so I took off on the 5th. If I don't have to take the heavy duty pain meds after (I will try to get away with just OTC if I can, but certainly will take the heavier ones if needed), I may try to go in to work the next day, we'll just play it by ear.

As far as the procedure goes, I will be sedated with a cocktail of Versed, Fentanyl, and a steroid to reduce the swelling. You are half awake, half asleep for the procedure, but 95% of people don't remember. Hopefully the fentanyl won't affect my vision again, I guess it is just temporary if it does, although I'm not sure if it was my anti-nausea patch or the fentanyl patch that blurred my vision so much after my bimax surgery . The procedure will last about 45 minutes. Pretty straight forward and MUCH less invasive than the last time.

Recovery wise, it shouldn't be too bad, I will just need to keep away from the stiches and incision site again. I am prepared for the lopsided swelling, but hope it doesn't linger too long so I am back to normal by Christmas and New Years. It should be pretty good after a week. It could limit my ROM some, we'll have to wait and see. I can get 1 finger in there now, vertically, all the way back to the back knuckle, so I still have a ways to go. I think I was able to get 3 fingers in before surgery.

I'll post if anything happens before my plate removal, but no appointments between now and then. I'll try to get some new pictures up before plate removal.

Soft Chew!!!

Sorry that I haven't posted and left you all hanging ... I am in Argentina right now and going to Brazil tomorrow ... so I haven't had much time to post. I did get the ok for soft chew on week 8 as I was hoping, and I have been really enjoying it! I was upgraded on my flight here, and they give you mixed nuts before your meal. I was shocked that I could actually eat the cashews! The biggest pain is getting them out of the braces. I actually think I can eat about anything right now if I have the patience to chew it. The most limiting factor for me is my range of motion, I can only open about a finger and a half, so it is not like I can just bite into things and start chomping. I also have to try to just chew on my right side so I don't get a ton of food stuck in the gap where my exposed plate is. I have my next appointment with my OS this Thursday, so I have a feeling we will be discussing at that time when we will take the plate out. At my last appoinment, my OS held my forhead firmly and torqued on my maxila and then on my mandible. No mobility what-so-ever, so it looks like thinks are pretty solid at this point. When I go through airports and crowded areas, though, I am still a little gun-shy, afraid that someone is going to elbow me in the jaw and knock something out of place.

I am almost at 10 weeks right now, and still have some residual swelling. On my right side along my jaw line, I can feel a lump there, I am not sure if it is just more swollen there than on the other side, or if it is scar tissue, but it definately feels different. It is also a little tender in that area when I touch it. Strange, since I would have expected that to happen more on the side where the plate is exposed.

Still no migraines ... I just can't tell you how happy I am about that. Over ten years of suffering from them ... I don't want to speak prematurely because who knows what could happen once I get my range of motion back, but if they are truley a part of my past I will be more grateful than you can ever imagine for having this surgery. I still get the occasional ear pains, but they usually go away and don't last too long.

I can't wait until I can stop using the Peridex. My teeth are now very dingy looking and I am looking forward to getting them cleaned, even if the hygienist can only get the outsides and can't get inside my mouth.

I don't think I mentioned this before, but my cheek is basically healing over my lower left bracket. It is almost completely covered now. My OS told me last week that the same thing happened to him. It is like that on the right side, too, but not nearly as bad as the left. Not too fun, unless you like chewing on your own cheek.

Well, that is about it for now, I will post more after my appointment Thursday.

8 weeks post-op ...

Well, I am just shy of 8 weeks post-op ... day 53 to be exact. And I am long over due for some photos, so finally I took some new ones today. I believe I have just a bit of residual swelling left, but pretty minimal by this point, mostly around my nose area.

I still get some shooting pains in my ear now and then, but it is manageable. What I am most pleased about is that I used to get migraines every time I would have a few cocktails, and the few times I have had drinks over the fast few weeks have not resulted in a mind boggling migraine. I haven't really had them period ... so I am hoping this lasts.

So ... here are the latest pics ... I am definately pleased with the results so far ... we have some work to do yet on my bite but actually having a side profile, plus (hopefully) reducing the migraines ... has made this whole process all worth while.

I have an appointment with my OS on Wednesday, I am hoping to get cleared for soft chew, so cross your fingers for me!!

2 more weeks of liquid/blended diet ...

I had my weekly OS appointment today, and was "hoping" I would get cleared for soft chew ... but in the back of my mind I guess I had a gut feeling that wasn't going to happen. Dr. P took a look at my plate, and said indeed it seems to continue to be closing up, although he said again that it would take a small miracle to heal over completely. Since I am healing up so nicely ... my reward is ... 2 more weeks of liquids! He fears if I move to soft chew it could rub the incision and prevent further healing. Oh well ... I've gone 6 weeks, what's another 2? (that is my attempt to be positive :) ) . Everything else looked good, yesterday I got cleared from my OD to use my Sonicare and water pic, and I guess it showed because Dr. P commented that my hygiene looked very good.

I ventured to ask about the plate removal procedure, if/when it takes place around week 10. It will be an in office procedure, using IV sedation, and I'll be in and out within an hour or so. He'll precribe me some of the heavier artillary drugs if I have excessive pain, but hopefully I will be able to get by on OTC meds. If we do the procedure on a Friday, I should be back to work the following Monday. I will only have to go back on liquids for a day or 2, and it won't have to be clear liquids, as the plate removal procedure is much less invasive than my original surgery. So that was good news.

We talked about my range of motion ... he doesn't think I'll progress too much more as long as I am in the bands still 24/7 ... although he did say that I may get some more ROM when I move to soft chew and have my bands out for 1 to 1.5 hours each time I eat. He said that it can take up to a year to get my ROM back, his ROM is less than before he had his surgery and since it has been over a year now he doesn't think he will get it back to what it was pre-op.

He will be in Canada next week, so I will not see him, but he still wants me to meet with one of the other doctors just to check on the plate, but so far everything is still looking good.