Pre-Op Appointment

Hello Everyone!

Well, here we are.  Just a mere 2 days to get through until surgery day, and I just got out of my first (and only) pre-op appointment.  Although it was long (roughly 4 hours), it went absolutely splendidly.  My surgeon hugged me (I'm a hugger, this was reassuring) when she saw me, and introduced me to the other staff that would be attending to me during and after surgery.  She took meticulous measurements and molds of my mouth, and answered a lot of the questions that had been burning a hole in my brain lately!  Let me admit here that I had accidentally left my list of questions at home (I wrote them down instead of saving them in my phone like I should've done), and just about panicked when I realized this.   It was too late to go back home to get them, so I did my best to remember some of them, but then I had a flash of a memory of  Miss Esmeralda's list of questions posted on her blog, and I immediately used my phone to look them up! Luckily whatever I couldn't remember from my own list was on hers!  So, thank you, thank you, Esmeralda! 

In fact, thank you to everyone who has written a blog documenting their orthognathic surgery experience.  My surgeon was so impressed that I knew so much about the surgery!  She was thrilled that I had so many "interesting, good questions," and I even shared my blog with her so that she could see the before pictures I had taken of myself.  She asked me to email her copies of them to her to use along with the gazillion they took today for her reference as she preps for the surgery.  She was doubly impressed by my dedication to my diet and exercise regimen, and even the supplements I've been taking.  She admitted that after I asked about taking the turmeric, bromelain, and quercetin,  she did quite a bit of research on her own part, and was really looking forward to seeing if they help with the swelling/recovery.  If they do, she plans on trying this supplemental approach with other patients!

I also mentioned to her that I'd like to avoid drinking Ensure any kind of dairy while in the hospital, and she happily noted this, and said that the hospital had a vegan option as well.  I was so happy that she's 100% supportive of this approach to healing.  I know many doctors out there don't feel quite the same way, and I was prepared to do whatever my own doctor ordered, but I'm just so relieved she and I seem to be on the same page about all of my prep.  Phew!


So, now that I've given you the basic summary of how the visit went, let me also share with you some important little nuggets of info that she shared with me that some of you might find helpful for your own prep.  She, of course, gave me way more information than just these bullets, but since the rest of the information is pretty common to jaw surgery blogs,  I'll just bullet some of the less commonly seen info out there. 

• She prescribed an anti-nausea patch that I'm to stick behind my left ear 2 hours before surgery.  Hopefully this will prevent (too much) nausea/vomiting after surgery.
• Liquid diet for 1 week. Mushy/soft foods are okay after that
• Daily walks (for as long as I feel comfortable) will help with the swelling and healing
• I am to use Afrin the first 3 days after surgery to help keep my nostrils clear enough to breathe through, and to avoid the "normal" panic that most patients go through around day 3 or 4 because they can't breathe through their nose.  This one made me think of all the other bloggers out there who have shared their frustration over the stuffed up noses and inability to breathe.  I'm totally nervous about this, myself.
• After Afrin, I am allowed to use one of those baby booger suction things to help keep my nose clear from the residual blood and other clotting tissue. 
• No carbonated drinks (for the first week or so) as they can mess with my stitches and incisions
• Throwing up dark blood is normal, bright red blood is NOT normal, and I'm to come in immediately if I do see this.

Now, finally, for the technical stuff:

• I will have the left side of my upper jaw moved up 4mm, while the right side will move up 2mm.  This will address my cant issue (where my top teeth slant)
• The lower jaw movement is harder to describe. It's kind of a rotate and pull forward combo to address the asymmetry of my lower jaw/face.  For the life of me I cannot remember how many mm forward she was going to move my lower jaw because for a long time she talked about how a typical
•  genioplasty may not work so well on me because one side (left) of my lower jaw is "thinner or flatter" than the other.  After much more staring at my face, and measuring, and pictures, and hmm-ing, and huh-ing, she finally said that she thinks she'd rather do a chin implant with some customization added for that "thinner side" of my face.  Below is a pic I found that I think illustrates all of this:

This is also me trying to hide my cant by just not smiling "very big."  Notice how the left side of my lower jaw seems "thinner," or more flat than my right (your left) side?

 Thankfully, I won't need to wear a splint as I will not be having my upper jaw split into any pieces, but rather just moved up and forward (1mm? I forgot this too!  Gosh, I'm bad.  Forgive me folks, I was so overwhelmed. 4 hours is a looong appointment, and A LOT of information).  Either way, I was relieved to hear this, as I seem to see nothing but not-so-happy-camper-stories about splints. 

Finally, I had my hooks put on this morning before my pre-op appointment.  My orthodontist hugged me (yay, more hugs!) on the way out, when I suddenly remembered that I had one last really good question to ask him before I don't see him for 6-8 weeks:  How soon after surgery will I get my braces removed?  Answer? August/Septemberish. YES!

Almost done folks.  Almost!