Anyone here have or know about Lower jaw advancement surgery ?

[NancyP]

I will be having this in a few months and would love to hear from others who have been there done that.
Nancy

 

[NurseELB]

Heard of it, never known anyone personally. I've taken care of many patients with jaw surgery before though, tough thing to go through. Good luck!

 

[TwilightMom]

I have not had it personally but my co worker did. We are both dental assistants, but we don't work in oral surgery. She was out from work for a good month or so. she had quite a lot of bruising and swelling. She also lost 20 pounds!!!

She said it wasn't easy but she would do it again if she had to. One thing lingered though. She cannot open her mouth very wide and the surgery was done over 3 years ago. It doesn't hurt, just can't open real wide.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
if you are doing this just for looks, i would really think long and hard,,,look at carol burnett....to me she does not look as well as she did before the surgery and you could end up with arthritis of the jaw and having to endur pain for the rest of your life.

 

[theoldchick]

My friend had this done years ago. She developed an infection and eventually suffered nerve damage. She lost the ability to smile and her mouth always had a downward turn. People thought she was mad not realizing surgery did this.

 

[Kansaseq]

Not sure if it's the same thing, but I had maxillofacial surgery 23 years ago. They basically removed bone from my bottom jaw to make it shorter. Had my jaws wired shut for 3 months and lost 30lbs---I looked great! I had it done because of an injury when I was younger. Had lots of swelling for a month or so, no bruising, and not being able to eat solid food for 3 months really sucked. It was worth it in the end, though. I got to keep all of my teeth, and the results were cosmetic. It was not a fun surgery, but not terribly painful. Having my wisdom teeth removed was far more painful.

Edited to add, I do have some lasting nerve damage. The skin on my chin is not as sensitive as it once was, and the muscle over my chin is somewhat numb feeling. I still have complete control over my mouth, but it feels like deeper layers of my chin are asleep. I've gotten used to it, don't drool (except when I'm asleep!), and honestly don't think about it at all.

 

[NancyP]

Thanks for the replies. I am not looking forward to surgery, but it is the only way to fix my bite problems and the cosmetic part is a plus. The sad part is this could have all been corrected by braces only when I was younger. I feel for you kansaseq the drooling is an issue for me too. I am hoping it will decrease when things get put in their proper place.

 

[gritsar]

I had my upper jaw reduced in size when I was 16. The orthodontist recommended it to my parents because although braces could and did straighten my teeth, they could do nothing about the fact that my upper jaw was significantly larger than my lower one. Cosmetically there was nothing that you could see that needed fixing. They said it would help me chew my food better, but I had managed to chew my food just fine for 16 years.
The surgery was done at The University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, the only place doing such surgery at the time. I had four upper teeth removed prior to the surgery to make room for the reduction. They took me into surgery, removed my braces, cut pieces out of both sides of my upper jaw, and wired it back in place. My braces were replaced and they took out my wisdom teeth while they were at it.
I don't recall how long my jaw was wired shut. I do remember being miserable.

If I knew then what I know now I would never have agreed to having it done; even though as a minor my parents had the final say. I have suffered with TMJ ever since. I now have extensive arthritis in my jaw and have many headaches and earaches as a result. The surgery changed nothing about my appearance. On top of everything else, I find myself worrying about the massive amount of x-rays to my head I had both before and after the surgery. They didn't worry about x-rays back then the way they do now.

Sorry to be such a downer, but 30+ years later it still bothers me. I wish you the best.

 

[StupidBird]

My sis had it done - very undersized jaw due to development problems as infant. done in her twenties, they didn't tell her to avoid loud noises during the healing process and she went to a concert, got nerve damage has constant tinnitus. I have constant tinnitus too, never had surgery, so really don't know... but it did improve her looks and jaw function. Get multiple opinions, do your research into the procedure and the doc, and good luck

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
I THINK YOU SHOULD GET A 2ND OR 3RD OPINION FROM AN ORTHDONIST. YOU COULD PROBABLY WEAR BRACES WITH THE RUBBER BANDS TO HOLD YOUR JAW IN ALIGNMENT. MANY ADULTS ARE NOW GETTING BRACES. THERE ARE DOCTORS THAT WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THOSE BIG BUCKS EVEN WHEN THERE ARE SAFER AND LESS INVASIVE METHODS.