Lower Jaw Surgery (Orthognathic Surgery)

I had orthognathic surgery done when i was in college (long ago). I do remember having my mouth banded shut for a long period of time - 6 weeks I believe. Overall, the surgery wasn't too bad and recovery just required alot of patience. I was only able to be on a liquid diet while I was banded shut (liquid jello, broth, shakes loaded with vitamin supplements, etc.) It's difficult - can't imagine doing the recovery with kids! But the surgery was soooooo worth it! Changed my life. After a few days, i was able to get up and around. I hope it goes well for you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need support.

My son had something similar years ago. We got a good blender and he got so he could suck anything through a straw. He had Ensure but that lost its appeal very quickly - he even had bacon and pancakes through a straw, not something you want to see but it worked. One thing that I did do was to make sure that everyone knew that he carried the cutters in case he go ill, and to use them if he were to vomit. We also got an air horn in case he needed help, since yelling with a wired jaw doesn't work. He came through it all beautifully but it was a scary time.

Hi S.,

I have a good friend whose 17 yo daughter went through this type of surgery a couple years ago. If you'd like to email me privately with your contact info, I'd be happy to forward it to my friend with your request.

If you are open to alternative medicine, I would highly recommend that you try to find a Healing Touch practitioner in your area to do (what I call) surgery support for you.

HT is a form of energy therapy that has been shown in a number of studies to reduce anxiety, accelerate post-operative healing, and reduce pain (healingtouchresearch.com). I provided this for my friend's daughter and it really helped her to relax about the surgery and she came through it beautifully.

Good luck!
B. in Fort Collins

I don't have anything helpful to offer, but thought it would be fun to share my "mean sister" story. My brother couldn't go to school because he'd just had his jaw surgery... He was bored, so I took him on a road trip. Every time we stopped to eat, he had to order a shake because that's all he could get through a straw... But I always pretended that I didn't know what he wanted and made him order his own food at the drive-thru. ---it still makes me giggle!

but good luck to you! I hope your family is kinder! :)

www.thosecrazybeans.blogspot.com

S.,

Your oral surgeon should be able to put you in touch with some of his patients. I had maxillary jaw surgery 21 years ago, without any complications. I 'm a retired dental assistant and have had several patients that have gone through this proceedure. I would suggest doing what I did and do some advanced cooking and freeze things in single serving sized containers. Mashed potatoes and gravy were my favorites because they tasted like real food. You get so sick of anything sweet, ie milk shakes, yogurt. Warning, you can puree just about anything in the blender, but it does take on a very unappetizing color. I had a friend that ate a lot of pizza this way. I never could get past the color thing. Back in the days that I had this done, they told me to dring instant breakfast type things. You will need to eat more frequently as liquid foods just don't stay with you as long. (In those days they wired you shut for a minimum of 6 weeks) My understanding is that they rarely wire you shut these days and just use elastics. Be very diligent about keeping your teeth clean and really try to avoid a lot of sugary foods. You might also want to look into a liquid vitamin/mineral supplement, available at any healthfood stores. These days it will be a lot easier for you with all the nutritional supplements that are available. Oh a word for the wise, DO NOT drink anything acidic (lemonade, orange juice etc) for the first few days. Your throat will be very raw from being intubated and it burns like heck-speaking from experiene. Best of luck to you and if you need to talk or someone to hold your hand, let me know. It is scary, I know. J.

I had the surgery about 10 years ago in high school to correct a class-3 malocclusion. I remember that i was in the hospital for a couple of days, and then missed a few days of school. Again, a liquid/soft food diet- invest in a very small toothbrush! The toddler ones will be the only ones you can get in your mouth. I ended up getting one from a neighbor with kids and remember to this day how wonderful it was to be FINALLY able to brush my teeth after about a week of mashed potatoes and stuffing.
I also remember getting an ear infection shortly afterwards, which my surgen wasn't surprized about and quickly prescribed me medication to take care of.

I do have a small amount of residual nerve damage- about a square inch right under my lower lip. It's mostly extra sensitive to very light touch, but if I happen to get a pimple in the area, i just leave it alone because it is excruciating to try and pop.
Also, I still have the screws in my jaw, and while it makes my dental x-rays look really cool, it can make my jaw tight if there are drastic weather changes.

any other questions feel free to send me a message

S.,
I had this surgery done 20 years ago. It was the best thing I have ever done and I do not regret doing it for a single moment. Since you asked, I'll share my experience with you.

I had both jaws done at the same time to correct an extreme overbite. I consiously and reflexively held my lower jaw forward so I would look normal and could eat, but was having bad headaches and my jaw popped so loudly when eating that people next to me could hear it in the High School cafeteria. The original plan was to move my lower jaw forward 8 mm and align the upper to match my bite. That would leave me with my jaw banded shut. But they warned me that there was a possibility of having my jaw wired shut depending on what they found when I got in there. After I was completely under anethesia they redid measurements and had to cancel the surgery after mine because they had to move my lower jaw 11 mm, which would require 3 cuts on my upper jaw instead of the planned 2. This also meant I was wired shut instead of bands. I came out of anesthesia vomiting blood (sorry if that's TMI) because they didn't have me positioned correctly and so the blood was draining down my throat into my stomach. That was the most horrifying part of the experience -- mostly because my jaw was wired shut. I spent 3 days in the hospital. I had to beg for a pain shot the first night because the pain was so bad. After that I made sure they kept on schedule with pain meds. I stayed home from school for 4 more days, but went back on the following Monday because I was bored. Most of the bruising was gone by then, but my face was still swollen. Since I was wired shut I couldn't really talk (wired shut is nothing at all like trying to talk with your teeth clenched together. with wires talking is nearly impossible) so I carried a paper and pen with me to communicate and got really good at hand gestures. Also with wires it is a strictly liquid diet, not soft foods. They took my wires off after 4 weeks (instead of the planned 6) because I had lost too much weight on a liquid diet -- at which point I had those teeny tiny bands on every tooth. Much better than wires! (With only your lower jaw being done, this should be what you start with.) I pretty much resumed normal life when I went back to school, but I was careful to not get bumped in my jaw and was excused from phys ed.
I have 2 metal pins in my lower jaw and 3 metal plates in my upper jaw. Anytime I get a new dentist they always ooh and ahh over my x-rays. I haven't noticed any pain with my pins or plates associated with weather changes, although I can feel the plates through the roof of my mouth when it's really hot or really cold. I can always feel the pins in my lower jaw.
I also have residual nerve damage: from my lower lip to the bottom of my chin, about the width of my lower lip I have limited feeling. It doesn't bother me unless I think about it. So it's not "numb" feeling, I just can't feel things as well as I can on other parts of my face.

My tips for you:
- talk with your doctor about all the possible outcomes for your surgery, both best and worst case scenarios. Tell him what your expectations are and make sure they are within what he/she expects as a reasonable outcome. Make sure you ask if it is at all possible that you will end up wired shut instead of bands. If so, you'll need to be prepared with stuff for a completely liquid diet. Write down all your questions before your next appointment with the doctor so you'll be sure to ask them all.
- be prepared for it to be painful. Like I said, this was the most painful thing I have ever done (before or since). Find out what your options are for pain medication and enlist the help of your husband or other helper to make sure you take it on time.
- you will need help with your kids for at least a week after you come home from the hospital. Especially with your smallest one since she won't understand not to touch/hit/"help" mommy's face. Whoever you have helping with the kids, make sure they are ready to help you too.
- record/rent/buy a bunch of videos, books, magazines, etc to keep you from being bored. You'll want to get up and go before you are really ready if you are too bored. Pace yourself so you don't overdo it.
- explain to your older child why you will look bruised and swollen and that it will take a while to go away. If she understands the what and why of your surgery (on a five year old level of course) it won't be scary for her

If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a message. Good luck. I hope your surgery has a great outcome for you.