Appointment with Surgeon

I was supposed to have an OD appointment yesterday, but I got a call on Sunday saying Dr. S was really sick and I had to reschedule for next Monday. I was bummed that the appointment was cancelled, because due to Australia it will now be about 8 weeks between my next appointment and my previous one.

I met with my oral surgeon today, Dr. M, which was really exciting! I met with him initially in October of 2009, so it's been a while. He is actually the second oral surgeon I have met with. I previously met with another OS closer to my college prior to meeting with Dr. M, and then met with that surgeon once again after my meeting with Dr. M, but I just wasn't feeling the connection with the other guy as much. I was worried after finding out that my mom's insurance wouldn't cover the surgery done by Dr. M, but because we both felt more comfortable with him, and he was referred to me by my OS, so she ended up switching her insurance provider this year.

The most exciting news to report is he said I will definitely be ready for surgery by May! He is thinking a week after I finish my finals, so sometime mid to late May. He described the whole procedure to me again and said we would definitely be doing upper and lower jaws. I asked him quite a few questions while I was there, I think he was a bit surprised, but was really willing to help me understand.

How much movement will there be?
They will be moving the bottom jaw 6 mm forward and rotating the upper jaw upward to fit correctly with the bottom jaw. I had always thought that the upper jaw surgery always entailed of lifting the jaw upward, so it was interesting to hear that my issue needed a rotation.

How many surgeries does he do a year?
25-30. I kind of expected to hear a higher number than that... but from what others have told me, this number is normal. I am from a small town, so although some surgeons do 70+ surgeries a year, there just isn't the demand where I'm from!

Does upper jaw surgery causes widening of the nose?
They put little stitches on each side of my nose to keep that from happening as much as possible, whew! I have a really little face and do NOT need a bigger nose!

Is there a way I can get prediction images?
It's something my OD could do for me, so I will try to get them asap!

How much time will I have to take off work?
About 2 weeks. I know most people reading my blog have read many other blogs, so I am wondering what you all think is the normal time people have to take off work after surgery? I need to take 3 weeks off of my job as a receptionist for a course I have to take to graduate, and the least amount of time I can take off for the surgery, the better. I just took a month off to fly to Australia, so I don't think they are going to be thrilled when I have to ask for two massive chunks of time off during the summer!

Will the upper surgery help with my breathing? I have had two septoplasties and both have resulted in going back to the initial position.
Yes, it might. Many patients notice a significant change in their ability to breath through their nose after surgery. If the surgery does not fix the problem, I will have to wait at least a year before getting another septoplasty.

What do you require for the diet for the first week of recovery?
He no longer requires strictly liquid. Anything soft enough to just swallow without chewing, so apple sauce, banana, etc.

I won't be meeting with him again for another 2 months, but this was the jist of what I learned today. He said he'd be meeting with Dr. S my OD soon to look at the molds of my teeth and discuss a proper time line. I will be updating again after my OD appointment next Monday.

Oh, and I received a date invitation last night for Valentine's Day :) If only I knew there was something with guys and these braces I would have gotten them on ages ago! :-P


6 comments:

  • Anonymous | February 1, 2011 at 6:50 PM

    Yeah! I am May too! I just had to reschedule my morning ortho appointment due to the massive snowfall that is hitting us in Chicago right now. I'll see him Friday now instead. Hopefully he says I am still on track for May as well. :)

    Congrats on the Valentine's date! Maybe the braces make you seem more approachable, Beautiful... ;)

  • Mai | February 1, 2011 at 8:28 PM

    wooo congrats!! fingers crossed hope May is the big month =D
    congrats also on the date
    as for the how many surgeries do surgeons do, from wat my surgeon does its like about 3-5 a week ima take a wild guess but more then 100 in a year

    cant wait to read more updates =D

  • Dani | February 2, 2011 at 8:13 AM

    Tina, I have been told recently by two different guys that they haven't approached me until recently because they thought I was 'intimidating' SO weird, I am no where NEAR intimidating! So the braces must just make me seem less so, which is fine by me :) I am so excited that you will be in May as well. Can you believe how quickly it's coming up? It will be helpful to know I have at least one person going through this with me as well! We should exchange emails when the pace starts picking up and moving closer to surgery ! OH and I have heard all about the snowstorm! A friend of mine was stuck on LSD for HOURS!

    Mai, SO jealous you're already on the other side :) You look incredible! I think your surgeon probably does so many more than mine because you live in NYC. My family lives in small town, Minnesota, so I just don't think my OS gets the same amount of traffic yours would.

  • Braced Blogger | February 2, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    Dani,

    30 a year is about how many my OS does and FYI he is the same surgeon as another blogger on here - Whitney. She's on the other side so you can check out her before and after pics which are amazing!! So I think 30 is good!!

  • Brent | February 2, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    Hi Dani!
    25 to 30 a year is a lot...at least 1 a month, in my opinion is a good number...not too many to be distracted, not to few. I have read where some surgeons do 100 a year...I can't imagine that.
    I too am hoping to have this done in May, looks like me, you and Tina will be on a soft diet at the same time! Whoo Hoo!
    Have a great day!
    Brent

  • whitneykendra | February 7, 2011 at 6:16 PM

    Haha I was just coming here to comment and say my OS does about 30 a year, but I see Tara beat me to it! :)
    I think 30 a year is a lot, and above average.
    Do you really know of a doctor that does 70+ orthognathic surgeries?

    That's so funny, what you said about guys and braces. It definitely does not deter the boys. Actually, one guy was saying he swore he knew me from somewhere and he was like "I remember, because I have a thing for braces." WTF. haha

    Congrats on your V Day date! ;)

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