Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 LOL!I had my surgery exactly 7 weeks ago today(June 8th) so i wouldnt quite consider that 20 years ago lol.My surgeon was Dr. A. Strauss at VCU's(i got there!! 2nd year) medical college.He's a great guy and he and my team of medical students and residents were great and did a wonderful job.I love the outcome as it went better than we all expected it to.My orthodontist is a Dr. Ji in Colonial Heights,VA right by Southpark Mall.Ive been working with him for almost 4 years now.He's wonderful and id recommend him to anyone.On the cost im not exactly sure since my dads insurance covered all but $102.75 lol thats the only bill we got.And with you being a big baby, SO AM I!! I hate needles and IV's and the very thought of getting a shot makes me cringe...ironically im going to VCU as a nursing major because i want to become a Nurse Anesthetist(a nurse anesthesiologist).LOL! My family cracks up when they find out what i want to do fro a living but i just tell them the best way to get over something that youre terried of is to do it to others..lol i sound so evil.Ball in all the pain was very tollerable the only true pain i remember is the pain from the getting the IV inserted and removed(maybe b/c i was focusing so much on it). The surgery was pretty painless.It lasted 9 hours exactly and an hour in recovery.I stayed overnight one night and was able to leave the next afternoon.But i do want to warn u that the first look in the mirror is one thing you;; never forget it was very hard for me being only 18 and obsessed with looks.There was a lot of numbness afterwards that slowly started deminishing over the course of about 4-5 weeks for me. Im almost back to completely normal feeling except for a little tingling in my chin every now and then but i can feel everything but the right side of the roof of my mouth.Swellin was horrible but was gone mostly by 5 weeks with exception of a little residual swelling that still remains in my what appears to others as just " chubby cheeks. " I dont have any kids or pets but my family could not stop staring at me on my first real " appearance " since my surgery at the fourth of july barbecue. They all were so amazed at how didfferent and good i looked it was kind of weird but also kind of exciting. So expect a lot of atttention afterward, hope your not too shy. I think the surgery was awesome and i would tell anyone pondering the question of whether or not to go through with it to go ahead. It worth it! I cant wait til im done with orthodontics and can have these braces removed! IM gonna miss em though...memories. lol. Well good luck!! -Krystal > > > I'm slowly coming oround to the realization that I need to do > > this. I > > > made the first big step the other day and finally saw an > > orthodontist > > > for a consult (the first of several consults I plan to get...). > > > > > > I was not too surprized when he said the lower jaw was > > overdeveloped - > > > but I was TOTALLY shocked when he said the upper was > > underdeveloped > > > and DEFINATELY had to be brought forward. I was NOT prepared for > > that > > > bit of news. I think I can handle cutting my movable lower jaw - > > but > > > the idea of separating what I thought was a fixed part of my > skull > > > (upper jaw) was a bit shocking... > > > > > > MY POINT: Is there anyone out there who had their " work " done in > > or > > > near Richmond, Virginia who I should consider - or more > > importantly - > > > avoid like the plague? > > > > > > Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Krystal, Good luck with the NA program. BTW, you do know that you have to practice with needles and shots on yourself in that program, don't you??? ;-) Dammit > > > > I'm slowly coming oround to the realization that I need to do > > > this. I > > > > made the first big step the other day and finally saw an > > > orthodontist > > > > for a consult (the first of several consults I plan to get...). > > > > > > > > I was not too surprized when he said the lower jaw was > > > overdeveloped - > > > > but I was TOTALLY shocked when he said the upper was > > > underdeveloped > > > > and DEFINATELY had to be brought forward. I was NOT prepared > for > > > that > > > > bit of news. I think I can handle cutting my movable lower > jaw - > > > but > > > > the idea of separating what I thought was a fixed part of my > > skull > > > > (upper jaw) was a bit shocking... > > > > > > > > MY POINT: Is there anyone out there who had their " work " done > in > > > or > > > > near Richmond, Virginia who I should consider - or more > > > importantly - > > > > avoid like the plague? > > > > > > > > Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 7 weeks ago - WOW! You almost sound like you enjoyed the experience ;- ) (just kidding, of course). I'll keep Strauss in mind if I decide to go through with it. I've setup consults with three MORE orthodontists: one recommended by my wife's dentist and two recommended by my daughter's dentist - and I already had one with an ortho recommended by MY dentist. I figure if FOUR orthodontists tell me the same thing - no one in my hyper- critical family can say I rushed into something as major as having my face sliced'n'diced for " vanity " reasons or that I was gullible and need to get another opinion (they WILL still say these things - but I'll sleep at night knowing I did my due diligence by getting four opinions) Do you have before & after photos in the photo section? (don't worry - I'm not a stalker (at least I don't THINK I am ;-) I'm not vain about my looks - but since I'm not in the federal witness protection program (yet), I do worry about how different I might look. I was actually hoping (perhaps naively so) that I could pull this whole thing off without anyone but my immediate family knowing about it. My wife says even she never sees my teeth because I can't smile like " normal " people (my term not hers), so I could maybe pull off the braces part - and then for the surgery I thought I could take three weeks off work for " vacation " and come back with a full beard and mustache and hope that nobody noticed – or at worst get furtive stares from coworkers wondering just WHAT was different about me? If you're seven weeks out and still swollen - my scheme sounds unrealistic. I guess I could tell folks I crashed my bike or got mugged on " vacation " and that's what's up with the bruised/swollen/stitched-up face. I just hate the idea of explaining to all the nosey people I work with just WHY AGAIN I'm doing this. ANYWAY – thanks for sharing your experience P.P. > > > > I'm slowly coming oround to the realization that I need to do > > > this. I > > > > made the first big step the other day and finally saw an > > > orthodontist > > > > for a consult (the first of several consults I plan to get...). > > > > > > > > I was not too surprized when he said the lower jaw was > > > overdeveloped - > > > > but I was TOTALLY shocked when he said the upper was > > > underdeveloped > > > > and DEFINATELY had to be brought forward. I was NOT prepared > for > > > that > > > > bit of news. I think I can handle cutting my movable lower > jaw - > > > but > > > > the idea of separating what I thought was a fixed part of my > > skull > > > > (upper jaw) was a bit shocking... > > > > > > > > MY POINT: Is there anyone out there who had their " work " done > in > > > or > > > > near Richmond, Virginia who I should consider - or more > > > importantly - > > > > avoid like the plague? > > > > > > > > Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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