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[Guest guest]

Dear Amy:

Your surgeon will probably use small rubber bands to keep your jaw

stable. Like the ones used by orthodontists. Or maybe you are fortunate enough

not to have them after your surgery. Bands are preferred over being wired. You

can at least open and swallow some soft food after the surgery. It's good to

have this done while you are young. You will recover faster then someone

older then your self. (I am 40) I am 8 weeks post-op and I have a bit of

numbness

left on my chin. I am still restricted to foods that I can swallow for

another four weeks. Putting aside those things, I am glad I had this done, so

it

will improve my looks and teeth. Please take enough time to heal, if you are

out of school then it's the best time to have it done. Good Luck.

[Guest guest]

hi my name is amy and i'm 15 years old. i have to havve both upper and lower jaw

surgery in june. i'm not gonna lie i am very scared. I'm not scared for actually

having the surgery but i am scared about the healing process. i have had many

surgeries in the past including my appendix taken out, knee surgery, and just

last week have had my tonsils out. I am suposed to have another knee

surgery..and of course the dreaded jaw surgery. ( i havn't really had the best

of luck surgery wise as you can see haha). But any way my jaw surgeon said that

he doesn't wire the mouth shut. he didn' really say what he actually does though

to keep the mouth shut. I wanted to know what other things he might use instead

of the wiring. i don' see him for a couple of weeks but i can't help but wonder

what he might do so i would appreciate it if you could write back ASAP.

Thanks much

Amy

[Guest guest]

Most likely he will fix your bones with either titanium screws and

plates, or some made of absorbable polymer (it dissolves over the

course of about two years, give or take). Sometimes rubber bands

are used to hold the mouth shut, and sometimes the mouth doesn't

need to be held shut at all. It depends on the doc, the procedure,

and by what technique your bones are being held together.

I've never had knee surgery or my tonsils out, but after being

through this, I'd have to guess the knees and tonsils are probaby

the worst of it. If you can handle that, you can handle this,

especially if you're not wired shut. The pain is minimal and easily

controled by drugs if you need them (I didn't much, others do for a

while). It's more a series of inconveniences - having to clean your

mouth, mushing your food, mumbling through your rubber bands,

dealing with swelling if you have it (I didn't much). A whole mess

of little things rather than one big problem. A good attitude and a

sense of humor go a long, long way.

Keep reading on this site and you'll pick up lots of little hints to

make things easier.

Kris

> hi my name is amy and i'm 15 years old. i have to havve both upper

and lower jaw surgery in june. i'm not gonna lie i am very scared.

I'm not scared for actually having the surgery but i am scared about

the healing process. i have had many surgeries in the past including

my appendix taken out, knee surgery, and just last week have had my

tonsils out. I am suposed to have another knee surgery..and of

course the dreaded jaw surgery. ( i havn't really had the best of

luck surgery wise as you can see haha). But any way my jaw surgeon

said that he doesn't wire the mouth shut. he didn' really say what

he actually does though to keep the mouth shut. I wanted to know

what other things he might use instead of the wiring. i don' see him

for a couple of weeks but i can't help but wonder what he might do

so i would appreciate it if you could write back ASAP.

> Thanks much

> Amy

[Guest guest]

My surgeon told me that I will be wired for the time I'm in the

hospital....after that I should wear strong elastic bands for at

least 12 hours a day until it's stablized. I almost hugged him when

I heard that, the wired idea scared the stuff outta me...I'm only

having lower, so it might be different for other procedures...

My suggestion would be to call or e-mail him and ask if it would put

your mind at ease.

Good luck!

> hi my name is amy and i'm 15 years old. i have to havve both upper

and lower jaw surgery in june. i'm not gonna lie i am very scared.

I'm not scared for actually having the surgery but i am scared about

the healing process. i have had many surgeries in the past including

my appendix taken out, knee surgery, and just last week have had my

tonsils out. I am suposed to have another knee surgery..and of course

the dreaded jaw surgery. ( i havn't really had the best of luck

surgery wise as you can see haha). But any way my jaw surgeon said

that he doesn't wire the mouth shut. he didn' really say what he

actually does though to keep the mouth shut. I wanted to know what

other things he might use instead of the wiring. i don' see him for a

couple of weeks but i can't help but wonder what he might do so i

would appreciate it if you could write back ASAP.

> Thanks much

> Amy

[Guest guest]

-- a small note here: Bands were definitely preffered by me,

because they were easier, and mainly, because they were my surgeon's

method of choice, before it was time to do it, anyhow. I left the

hospital with none.

But some surgeons feel strongly about wiring their patients, and that

they get better results that way. If that had been the case with my

doc, I would have told him to wire me. (He also believes that banding

is much preferable, because he believes there is less likelihood of

the big jaw muscles snapping back and causing a relapse.)

Glad to hear you're doing well.

Cammie

> Dear Amy:

> Your surgeon will probably use small rubber bands to keep your

jaw

> stable. Like the ones used by orthodontists. Or maybe you are

fortunate enough

> not to have them after your surgery. Bands are preferred over

being wired. You

> can at least open and swallow some soft food after the surgery.

It's good to

> have this done while you are young. You will recover faster then

someone

> older then your self. (I am 40) I am 8 weeks post-op and I have a

bit of numbness

> left on my chin. I am still restricted to foods that I can swallow

for

> another four weeks. Putting aside those things, I am glad I had

this done, so it

> will improve my looks and teeth. Please take enough time to heal,

if you are

> out of school then it's the best time to have it done. Good Luck.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

My 17 year old son's medical history sounds similar to yours.

Between different sports, he has had 8 surgeries, (dislocated

shoulder, finger surgery 3 times, hernia repair, as well as lots of

different stitches). He always seemed to have the worst luck (once

had a seizure during surgery due to anesthestic error by dr), so we

had the exact same concerns as you. However, he had upper, lower,

chin, and wisdom teeth removed on March 9. Everything went smoothly

and we had NO PROBLEMS! He said the pain wasn't as bad as the

shoulder surgery, which is probably similar to your knee surgery.

He wore rubber bands for about 5 weeks after surgery, but no longer.

He is eating everything he ate before. And he looks GREAT!

He is so glad to have this done. My daughter will have the same

surgery next summer.

Best of luck to you. I know you will do fine.

> > Dear Amy:

> > Your surgeon will probably use small rubber bands to keep

your

> jaw

> > stable. Like the ones used by orthodontists. Or maybe you are

> fortunate enough

> > not to have them after your surgery. Bands are preferred over

> being wired. You

> > can at least open and swallow some soft food after the surgery.

> It's good to

> > have this done while you are young. You will recover faster then

> someone

> > older then your self. (I am 40) I am 8 weeks post-op and I have

a

> bit of numbness

> > left on my chin. I am still restricted to foods that I can

swallow

> for

> > another four weeks. Putting aside those things, I am glad I had

> this done, so it

> > will improve my looks and teeth. Please take enough time to

heal,

> if you are

> > out of school then it's the best time to have it done. Good Luck.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >