Double (Bimax)Corrective Jaw Surgery
or Orthognathic surgery
Jaw surgery is considered when orthodontics alone will not correct the bite. Orthodontics are used before and after the surgery to more teeth into a better position. I got my braces put on a little over a year before my surgery. Most people who have orthognathic surgery do have braces put on before the surgery.
They will use my braces during surgery to "wire" my jaw shut during the surgery. If you do not have braces they will put a metal bar in your mouth to wire your jaw after surgery. I am going to have both upper and lower jaw surgery. My maxillofacial surgeons (at least 2 surgeons are required for this surgery) will reposition the jawbones my lower jaw will "break" my jaw and move it forward and up. They will then remove a part of my upper jaw and move it up. They will use titanium plates to hold the jaw in place.
I had my pre-opp appointment and a 2 hour class on 5/28/2013. I must say that there are some good things about Kaiser. I think this class is important, especially if you never had any surgeries before. The nurse of the class didn't really leave anything to the imagination. I had done some research and I guess having had major back surgery most of the info wasn't new to me. I must say most of my fellow surgery buddies were quite shocked and on overload. She went through all the details of the surgery from start to finish which included I.V. needles, antithesis, side effects, doctors info, supplies, and after care. I received a "drink to your health" recipe book complete with calorie counts of the soups and smoothies. I will highlight a few things I learned that could be helpful for others going through similar surgery.
I will be wired shut for 10 days (This was a lot less than I was originally told. Yipee!) . The nurse would like us to drink at least 100 ounces of liquid and have about 2000 calories daily for woman or 2600 calorie for men. If you do not drink enough liquids you run the risk of being deyahrated and having a slower recovery. She said that this is where family members are important because we will not want to drink because it is painful and takes a long time. Family members/care takers will have to encourage and keep filling our cup.
PAIN, SWELLING, NUMBNESS and NAUSEA- You will be in pain and have a LOT and a lot of swelling (if you haven't done so you might want to look at other people's blogs who have before and after pictures). The nurse said that day 2-5 have the most swelling. You can also get bruising too. You will be numb after surgery. Nerves take a long time to heal. It takes about 3 months to a 1 yearfor most of your numbness to go away (sometimes even longer). There is a chance for you to have some little parts of your face stay numb. Many people do vomit after the surgery and it is fine ( I know I hate throwing up but the nurse said to not worry about it, be calm and breath deep). They do put a drug in your IV for nausea but it still happens
ICE, WALK & TALK- The nurse said that these will be key to a good recovery. Ice is most important 72 hours after surgery to help with swelling. After that it is mainly for pain relief.They want you to walk around which will help you heal. Also they want you to talk as soon as you can. I guess talking helps reduce the swelling and help your muscles. It will be painful and frustrating because you will have to repeat yourself a lot.
Surgery time and Hospital time- Both upper and lower jaw surgery will take about 2 1/2 to 4 hours (this is my surgery). Lower jaw surgery 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, and just upper jaw surgery 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours . If you are having upper jaw surgery you will stay over night at the hospital and be discharged in the morning. If you are having lower jaw surgery only you will stay 1-3 hours after surgery and go home that day. This is according to Kaiser and might be different depending on your hospital or surgeons.
Upper jaw surgery seems a little more intensive and takes more recovery time. You also cannot blow your nose for 6 weeks. For any of the surgeries you cannot lift more than 5 pounds.
Time off- They suggest you take off about 6 weeks of work. Some people can go back earlier depending on your type of work. Also, they suggest that a family member take care of you for about 2 weeks ( some jobs allow family medical leave.)
Those were a few of the things talked about in the class.
