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1. • CommentAuthoralisonwonderland
   • CommentTimeMar 20th 2010

    
   Hi guys! My name is Alison, I'm 22 and from NYC, and am two days post-op.
   
   I had a maxillary osteotomy and a mandibular vertical ramus osteotomy for my huge underbite/protruding jaw. They moved my lower jaw back like 10 cm and my upper forward 3. Also my lower jaw was twisted to my left and my upper to my right. Basically it was just painful, hard to eat/talk/ pulling at my cheeks/popping all the time, and above all I felt ugly.
   
   Apparently I am one in like 1000 people that did NOT require braces BEFORE surgery. My teeth grew in pretty much properly straight, but my jaws were just a wreck. So instead of the months leading up and braces getting changed, etc etc, I was able to schedule surgery about 3 weeks in advance when I met the perfect doctor for me here, and they told me that during the operation, they were going to put on surgical braces with rubber bands/arch supports to hold my jaws together.
   
   So in any event, year, two days post. It all feels like a blur. I was the first surgery of the day. I also walked myself into the ER like a little rock star. They made me as cozy as possible and made sure I knew i'd be waking up with 2 tubes up my nose - a breathing tube that would come out just as I was waking up, and an NG tube (which I was deeply stressed about bc of past issues with them). I remember them giving me heated clothes and blankets to put on and getting the IV poke and being out... When I first met (coherently) with the doctor a few hours after I was done, he said from 1 to 10, I was a 1 in terms of post-op swelling, and that it's going to be the worst over the next 3 days, the start going down.
   
   I experienced no nausea whatsoever, and so the doctor took out the torturous NG tube and then the most of my in-hospital problems were solved. I was on IV morphine every 3 hours, along with this awesome oxygen mask, and ice packs for my swelling. I probably didn't even need the prior two, but the oxygen was nice (and kept my nose from bleeding as much, which was/has been really irritating - I'm bleeding more out my nose than my mouth, which I hear is normal for when they do both jaws), and I wanted to see what morphine was like, haha. It didn't really do much for me except make me a little drowsy. I have a high tolerance to painkillers, so... yeah.
   
   I was really lucky in terms of no barfing or nausea, and my mom started to sneak in forbidden liquids to me like Gatorade as soon as the doctor verbally authorized it, haha. So of course the crappiest part was waking up to these surgical braces that make me look like Hannibal Lecter. And being on a 4 week liquid diet (at 5'8/115 lbs as a girl, I REALLY don't have anything to lose!). Blah. I. Want. Foooooood! Ha. But I know we have to.
   
   These surgical braces (although some are calling it a split - mine must be completely different), because they are actually metal braces very close to the top/bottom of my gums, first experience as a metalhead (none pre-op), with cris-crossing tight rubber bands from bottom to top holding my jaw shut. They are the most painful aspect - it feels like the are pulling directly into my gums), followed by the swelling. My lips have grown like, x3 and I have yucky black and brown bruising around them that looks like I just couldn't wipe off the chocolate. My cheeks and bottom of neck are puffy though I have a really long thin narrow face so it's not all that bad. When I look in the mirror from the side, my underbite is gone and I know that my face will look FAR better once I'm all healed, so... Here's me, 2 days in, saying.... It's worth it.
   
   Lastly, it seems like a lot of you are Canadians; I got really lucky as an American student with my parents' insurance covering it and my doctor being awesome. We had a co-pay for the doctor himself of like $1033, plus the hospital day rates (which we'll find out), but the surgery itself was $45,000!!.
2. • CommentAuthorpushead
   • CommentTimeMar 24th 2010

    
   Congrats on your new look.