Update to Jaw Surgery Update

I found some pics that I had taken about a week after my surgery and just thought I would post them for whoever was doing research about Orthognathic Surgery (see previous surgery posts as well). Even though I looked fairly normal, I was in a ton of pain for about 3 weeks before the swelling really started to go down. Seeing these pics might make you feel a little bit better though. The best advice I can give you is to take Advil (3-4) every 4-6 hours and keep ice on your face at ALL times. This helps with the swelling and the faster the swelling goes down, the less bruising you get and the better you feel.

Day 7: This was me before my 1 week follow up appointment with the surgeon. Disclaimer: he did say that I was healing a lot faster than most other people who had the same types of surgeries. And he was surprised that I was already looking so good.

These next pics were taken the next evening...so 8 days after surgery.





I really hard to work hard to smile...almost exhausting...and I couldn't get each side to work at the same time.



Day 10


View of the contraption holding my mouth together. Not visible: 16 screws, four metal plates and a piece of human bone.







Approximately 12 Days After the Surgery

The Only Outward incisions that were made, one on each side. The inside of my mouth was totally mutilated though.

I you are thinking about having the surgery, I hope these pictures help you make whatever
decision is right for you. Good luck!

Definitely Worth It!

The surgery was definitely worth it. I can't imagine not doing it now. I was terrified before hand because it just sounds weird and invasive. They had to completely detach my upper jaw from my skull, break it in half, put bone grafting material in the roof of my mouth and reattach everything with four metal plates and 16 screws. The surgeons moved my bottom jaw back and straightened it; it is attached with 4 screws on each side. It all just really sounds gross!

Anyway, after I got over that and just let it happen and trust that my surgeon knew what he was doing, things got much better. I went back to work after only one week. I wore ice packs all day, but I was there. The best thing I did was keep a steady supply of Advil in my body. As soon as it started to wear off, I would notice the swelling starting again. I also took liquid vitamins, so that I would heal faster. Honestly, the worst part about the recovery wasn't the pain...it was having my mouth wired shut and not being able to eat, especially since it was during Christmas.

Before my surgery, my teeth were really crooked because my mouth was too small, now they are perfectly straight and I love it! I also would get migraines because of the tension in my bite because my teeth didn't line up and now as long as I wear my retainers at night, my headaches are pretty much gone. I went into the surgery expecting it to be horrific and luckily for me, it turned out better than expected. It wasn't a pleasant experience by any means, but I'm so happy that I went through with it and if I had it to do all over again I would. Good luck!!