Sneaky Surgery

I feel like I have been waiting forever, but somehow surgery snuck up on me! This month has been go, go, go, so it feels strange that it's all coming to a screeching halt. But that isn't until tomorrow. Today was no exception from the busyness. I went to work for a few hours, before I hit the ground running with pre-surgery errands.

I had an orthodontist appointment to get on my surgical hooks and wire lacing up my wires for some extra support. They gave me a sweet surgery survival bag again!

I told my brother and sister-in-law that I feel like the furnace
from Home Alone with all these bars and hooks Haha! 

After I left the orthodontist, I continued my wild goose chase...  When I dropped off my five prescriptions at the pharmacy last week, I was told that they didn't carry the pain medicine elixir (liquid), so I continued to search at numerous pharmacies, called special pharmacies, and asked pharmacists I know where I could find it. Nowhere to be found! I started to worry because, uh, I think I'll want that one through the recovery! So in desperate, last-minute measures, I called my surgeon's office to let them know what was going on.  They called me back a little later to tell me know that Dr. M will give my parents a different prescription tomorrow at the hospital.

Lunch was my last meal with crunchy items for quite a while, then my mom and I went around to collect some things I'll need after coming home from the hospital. We went to Sam's Club and stocked up Ensure protein drinks and fruit for smoothies. 

Once home, I went to work on some teaching applications that I wanted to have mostly completed before surgery. I worked on that up until the last supper.  Haha! A lot of people have asked what my last meal would be, but I never really thought about it.  I'm supposed to eat light the night before anyway, so I just opted for having family over and ordering some pizza.  My niece must have know something was going on because she was being especially affectionate to me tonight. It was a very casual evening, but I wouldn't want it any different.  

It wasn't until after dinner when I realized I actually had quite a bit to think about.  I needed to shower, still wanted to update the blog, and completely forgot that I might need to bring a few things to the hospital since I will be staying overnight this time. I've been so casual about this surgery that I keep forgetting tomorrow isn't just a simple doctor's visit. 

We are supposed to be at the hospital at 7:30 in the morning, and our wake up call be be much earlier than that since we have to combat with rush hour.

Just a recap: I am having double (upper and lower) jaw surgery tomorrow.  They will be bringing my upper jaw forward, and slightly shifting my lower jaw.  Here are two short videos of general examples of what my surgeon will be doing.**This is not specific to me!

Upper

Lower

I am doing pretty well with all of this. It doesn't seem like it is happening tomorrow, so most of my concerns haven't reminded me of their presence recently. I will be very matter of fact about surgery then randomly worry about the pain I'll have, or worry that I won't like how my face or smile changes, or how there is a very, very small chance I will wake up with my jaws wired together. But I need to stop! Why worry about things that may not even be an issue?  Although, I will admit that it is very strange to think about how I will wake up after surgery, and my face will actually feel different.  My teeth will touch more than they have in years, and it is just odd that it can be done in one day instead of gradual movements.

Well, I'm sure there is more for me to say, or something that I am leaving out, but I can't think of anything right now. I'll leave you with some final before pictures.

Smiling

Relaxed jaw

  

      

                   

Sorry if this update is a mess. I didn't get to organize it as much as I'd like to.

Anyhoo... Think happy thoughts for me tomorrow! See ya on the other side.

Oh boy...

This post is a doozy, but first a quick update on the orthodontics from the past month or so.

At the orthodontist appointment in October, Dr. S put some brackets on my very back upper molars.  I knew when I left that they would be a pain because they are wayyyy back there! Since then, these brackets have buried themselves into my cheeks.  It is not just an irritation; you can physically see a hole in my cheek.  It's probably more difficult to eat now than it has been through the whole journey.  The brackets will catch on my cheek, and I will have to do a weird maneuver with my lips to unhook it.  I got a pitiful laugh out of my mom when I told her I felt like a snake because I have to unhook my cheeks before eating anything. I have gotten used to it, and complaining about it won’t do any good. I know they need to be there, and the lack of space is the whole issue of why I’m having surgery. So, for now, I've learned to suck it up and toughen up.

It is a little embarrassing how excited I get for meetings with the surgeon.  I genuinely cannot wait to get there, hear how things are progressing, and what the next step will be.  This was especially true for this appointment because it was the records and Q&A appointment. 

Once I got there, I was taken back for a few different things to update my records.

1. A panoramic dental x-ray was taken.  It is the crazy machine that complete circles your head, so the doctor can see the entire mouth (teeth, jaws, surrounding tissues) in one image.

   

   Just an example!

2. Dr. M took a series of pictures of my face from different angles, both relaxed and biting.
3. One of the wonderful assistants took me to a consult room to make some impressions of my upper and lower jaws. I’ve become a pro at these over the past decade.

   

   The purple impression is needed to make the model (on the left). Again, example!

4. I had to help Dr. M and the assistant use the face-bow. They needed me to guide the earpieces into my ears, while they both screwed certain things in place.  It looks like something that would have been used in medieval torture, but according to The Medical Dictionary website, a face-bow is defined as “a device used in dentistry to record the positional relations of the maxillary arch (upper jaw) of to the temporomandibular joints (the joints that connect the mandibal/lower jaw to the rest of the skull) and to orient dental casts in this same relationship to the opening axis of the articulator (make a representation of my exact bite with the models of my jaws).”
   

After all the records were done, Dr. M examined my face and bite. And by that, I mean he looked and looked and looked at my face... all the while he has his hand gently on the side of my head, and I am trying to figure it out where to direct my eyes, because it just seems a bit too intimate when eye contact is made. Haha!

Mom joins the room while he is continuing to evaluate my jaw's progression. He then takes a step back and says that the upper jaw looks perfect.  He is very pleased with how that has been prepared for surgery. You can almost hear the big ol' "but" (Hahaha!) that is about to happen.

... he then says, "After looking at her jaw right now, I would not feel right going forward with the surgery as we had originally planned.  Because of how great the top jaw is now, it is magnifying the fact that the lower jaw is not correct." 

Great.

He continues to explain that none of us have noticed that my lower jaw is off center.  It is shifted slightly to my left, and if we continued as planned, moving the top jaw to fit with the lower jaw, my mouth would be askew. Mom immediately sees what he is talking about.

And there is my self-consciousness rising...

We have a few options as to what to do from here.

1. Lower Jaw Surgery - He would move my lower just in position with my upper jaw.  Unfortunately, this would not correct the lack of space in the back of my mouth with the upper jaw.  Plus, there was also a chance it would weaken my chin, and genioplasty would need to be considered. There are too many negatives with this, and I'd like to stay as natural as I can.  
2. Double Jaw Surgery - He would end up cutting and re-positioning both my upper and lower jaws before bolting them into place. This would fix both problems, and genioplasty would be less likely. 

So, okay. Double jaw surgery. Okay, fine. Alright. No biggie. 

Will surgery still be the same day?  

 - Yes, but about two hours longer. 

Can we get it covered by insurance in two weeks?

 - The amazing ladies at the office were already on getting it approved before we left. PLEASE, everyone, cross your fingers!! 

How does it affect recovery?

 - It will now be a little longer. 

My biggest concerns:

 - Pain.  For some reason, I have it in my head that lower jaw surgery will be more painful. Plus, it is double the surgery, which means double the swelling and recovery.

- There is a very, very small chance of this happening, but a genuine concern nevertheless. Where Dr. M will cut the lower jaw is very near a large nerve, and IF that nerve were cut, I would lose feeling in my lower lip and chin area.  Again, possibilities of that are slim, but he has to warn me of it for liabilities sake.  Not like I needed anything else to worry about. 

- Two more hours of surgery means two more hours where I could wake up in the middle of a horrific surgery!  Again, the odds of this happening are incredibly slim to none! But that's a terrifying thought! I reached out to a friend who is studying anesthesia who reassured me that everything will be totally fine.  It will not happen, but on the off chance that I do wake up, I'll just hear the sound of chainsaws.... so funny, Becky! 

- What am I going to look like afterwards?  I know this surgery is a good thing. I do! But it's really scary to know that I will look different when I wake up. Luckily, it should only be minor changes because my open bite was not super extreme.  I've never been uphappy with how my face looked, and surgery is going to change it.  I only hope that it will be an improvement!  I've seen a few before and after pictures on the internet where I like the person's before smile better, and it terrifies me to think I might be one of those.  It doesn't help that everyone has always told me how beautiful my smile is and how it is my best feature.  My jaws are changing. I just hope my smile doesn't.  But hey, if I was smiling with a sideways smile, it can only improve, right?

- Insurance not covering the second surgery. I constantly worry about being a financial burden to my parents, and I just hope and pray that insurance approves this surgery. My biggest worry when we found about about needing both surgeries was, "how much stress is this going to add on mom and dad?"

While I am talking about my parents, I just want to give them a HUGE shout out for being so amazing. They have never second guessed this whole ordeal, never hesitated to do something that will improve my life, and insisted on taking care of me while they still can.  Their answer to all of my worries have been, "We can handle it. We are here with you through this. Don't you worry."  Thank you, both! I love you!


On a different note, THIRTY-THREE different countries from all over the world have read this blog!! That's so cool! Thank you so much to those of you who take time out of your day to read this silly thing.  It meas a lot!