Orthognatic surgery in Toronto Canada

[Guest guest]

Hi there

My name is Mike, I am 24. I don't know how to diagnose the deformity

I have..but I believe it's an overbyte, a chin deficiency and a

slight upper jaw excess. it could be only one of those though

I live in Toronto, and I want to undergo surgery, I have no

information about the cost, if it is refunded by the province health

insurance (ohip), how long would the waiting period be or who to go

see regarding getting a surgery...

btw, I already had braces when I was 17 and now have a perfect byte

and perfect smile, so I don't think I need any presurgery orthodontic

treatment or at least not a long one.

Anyone in the group in the ontario area? could you please provide any

info regarding this?

Thanks a bunch

Mike..

[Guest guest]

Hi Mike,

I live about an hour north of Toronto, and have had my ortho

treatment up here, but I had my surgery at Toronto General in August

of 2002. The best surgeon in the area is Claudio Tocchio. A number

of us on the site have had him as surgeon in the last few years

(denistaff, harrison - who posted recently, check the archives).

My surgery was upper/lower/genio (genioplasty is chin surgery), for

an overbite/overjet (overjet is horizontal projection of upper

teeth), retrognathic lower jaw.

You can see my photos on oss2 at

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/orthognathicsurgerysite2 You'll

have to join that group to view the photos.

Also I set up an info website at

http://www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo - my own surgery

experience is there as well as some others from these groups. Lots

of FAQs, links, etc.

You can call OHIP and ask what is covered. I did, and was relieved

to find that the surgery itself is covered. Out-of-hospital (ie:

office) visits to the surgeon are not, that will cost you about C$

1,200-1,500. His waiting list was 8-9 months at the time I had my

surgery, slightly lengthened because 8 operating rooms were closed

in Toronto. on had his operation just as SARS struck. I would

wait any length of time to have him do my surgery, and if I had to

do it again, I'd chose him.

Braces are usually necessary, the bite generally gets messed up so

that it will fit together post-op, then the ortho fine-tunes things.

I had never had braces before (I was almost 47 when I had my

surgery), so I needed more work. I started treatment in January

2001, braces came off April 2003.

Let me know if I can help, if you have any questions at all!

> Hi there

> My name is Mike, I am 24. I don't know how to diagnose the

deformity

> I have..but I believe it's an overbyte, a chin deficiency and a

> slight upper jaw excess. it could be only one of those though

>

> I live in Toronto, and I want to undergo surgery, I have no

> information about the cost, if it is refunded by the province

health

> insurance (ohip), how long would the waiting period be or who to

go

> see regarding getting a surgery...

>

> btw, I already had braces when I was 17 and now have a perfect

byte

> and perfect smile, so I don't think I need any presurgery

orthodontic

> treatment or at least not a long one.

>

> Anyone in the group in the ontario area? could you please provide

any

> info regarding this?

>

> Thanks a bunch

>

> Mike..

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all the valuable information...and congrats on the

success of your surgery. I saw the pics, the surgeon did a great a

job on you!

I have another question though. So the first step would be to go see

a dentist and get a referral or just walk in to Toronto General

hospital and ask for that surgeon? how does that work exactly?

Thanks in advance. Mike..

> Hi Mike,

>

> I live about an hour north of Toronto, and have had my ortho

> treatment up here, but I had my surgery at Toronto General in

August

> of 2002. The best surgeon in the area is Claudio Tocchio. A number

> of us on the site have had him as surgeon in the last few years

> (denistaff, harrison - who posted recently, check the archives).

>

> My surgery was upper/lower/genio (genioplasty is chin surgery), for

> an overbite/overjet (overjet is horizontal projection of upper

> teeth), retrognathic lower jaw.

>

> You can see my photos on oss2 at

> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/orthognathicsurgerysite2

You'll

> have to join that group to view the photos.

>

> Also I set up an info website at

> http://www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo - my own surgery

> experience is there as well as some others from these groups. Lots

> of FAQs, links, etc.

>

> You can call OHIP and ask what is covered. I did, and was relieved

> to find that the surgery itself is covered. Out-of-hospital (ie:

> office) visits to the surgeon are not, that will cost you about C$

> 1,200-1,500. His waiting list was 8-9 months at the time I had my

> surgery, slightly lengthened because 8 operating rooms were closed

> in Toronto. on had his operation just as SARS struck. I would

> wait any length of time to have him do my surgery, and if I had to

> do it again, I'd chose him.

>

> Braces are usually necessary, the bite generally gets messed up so

> that it will fit together post-op, then the ortho fine-tunes

things.

> I had never had braces before (I was almost 47 when I had my

> surgery), so I needed more work. I started treatment in January

> 2001, braces came off April 2003.

>

> Let me know if I can help, if you have any questions at all!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi again, Mike.

Well, first of all, he doesn't work out of Toronto General anymore

(political, it's a teaching hospital and he doesn't teach). Mostly

North York General, I think. He used to do some surgeries out of

Sunnybrook, but as it's part of University Health Network, I would

imagine he might not be getting OR time there either.

Here's the path I ended up on: basically, I didn't know I had a

problem that required surgery. My dentist was monitoring my jaw

popping (occasional locking) and would ask if it hurt. One day I said

yes, he asked if I wanted to be referred to a pain specialist, but

that it wouldn't be cheap. That ortho was the one who told me that I

had two options, one being surgical correction of the jaw (he felt

only lower). I figured that was a more permanent solution, and

decided to proceed. My ortho only works with Tocchio, he considers

him the best. So I booked a consultation with him, was very

comfortable with him once I met him, and decided to go ahead.

The most important thing, I think, is to have an ortho and surgeon

who have worked together. Experience counts. I think my ortho's been

using Dr T for his surgical cases for about 25 years, although he

doesn't do a lot of them. Tocchio does a lot of these procedures.

First question, though, is how do you know you require surgery?

Suggestions for you? You might call Tocchio's office and book a

consultation with him (it cost me $100, but that was in Oct 2000, and

I had molds & xrays already done through my ortho consultation that

he was able to review before I saw him). That might take a few months

(I booked mine after my July results consultation with my ortho, the

appointment I got was end of October).

The two patients/friends I mentioned both had Dr Metaxas as their

ortho. He teaches at U of T, and uses Tocchio for surgery cases. You

could try calling him as well. Unfortunately I don't know the names

of other orthos he's worked with, but I suppose his office could help

you there.

My ortho is up in Barrie, where I live, so unless you want to drive a

great distance, I won't list him. He also has that wacky treatment

with ALF appliances (it took a little longer, but I think the end

result was worth it).

Tocchio's office is at 1100 Sheppard Ave, just west of . Tel #

is . His last name is pronounced just like the

city " Tokyo " .

I'm glad the sites and photos helped out. I wasn't really prepared

for any big cosmetic change, it's quite something to get accustomed

to, but I'm very pleased with the functional results.

Let me know if I can help, any questions at all! Feel free to e-mail

me too, if you prefer. Sometimes I can get quite busy and don't get

to the sites (other than moderating tasks on site 2), although I do

manage to get to my e-mail.

> Thanks for all the valuable information...and congrats on the

> success of your surgery. I saw the pics, the surgeon did a great a

> job on you!

> I have another question though. So the first step would be to go

see

> a dentist and get a referral or just walk in to Toronto General

> hospital and ask for that surgeon? how does that work exactly?

> Thanks in advance. Mike..