saggital split vs. vertical oblique, and relapse

[Guest guest]

Hi, everyone,

I met with my surgeon yesterday to go over the final details pre-op

(I'm having my lower moved back 6mm.) He told me he would do a

vertical oblique. When I questioned why over the saggital split, he

said that there was less chance of relapse, and less chance of nerve

damage. I had heard that about the nerve damage, but was surprised

about the " less chance of relapse " for I had read somewhere that

there was a GREATER risk with the oblique. Any thoughts anyone?

Also, he mentioned that in all cases there would be some relapse,

even minimal. I asked him if he would over-correct me due to that

fact, and he said no, that my teeth would hold it. So I seemed to

get mixed messages. What are the chances of relapse and by how

much; does anyone know?

Getting down to the wire,

Christy

[Guest guest]

I suspect your surgeon's ego will prevent him from saying he is more

comfortable with the oblique than the sagittal split procedure,

therefore it's the procedure of chioce for him. Instead, he'll tell

you that the oblique is the better procedure.

If you go to another surgeon he's likely to choose sagittal split.

My understanding is that the oblique requires your jaws to be wired

shut for 6 weeks whereas the sagittal split does not.

ly the whole question of relapse confuses me. My surgeon never

mentioned it, and I neglected to bring it up, so I have never heard

a satisfactory explanation of what it is or why it occurs. It's

hard for me to believe that they can split your jaw, reposition it,

install 6 screws to hold that position, and then somehow the jaw

mysteriously creeps back to its original position.

Jay

> Hi, everyone,

>

> I met with my surgeon yesterday to go over the final details pre-

op

> (I'm having my lower moved back 6mm.) He told me he would do a

> vertical oblique. When I questioned why over the saggital split,

he

> said that there was less chance of relapse, and less chance of

nerve

> damage. I had heard that about the nerve damage, but was

surprised

> about the " less chance of relapse " for I had read somewhere that

> there was a GREATER risk with the oblique. Any thoughts anyone?

>

> Also, he mentioned that in all cases there would be some relapse,

> even minimal. I asked him if he would over-correct me due to that

> fact, and he said no, that my teeth would hold it. So I seemed to

> get mixed messages. What are the chances of relapse and by how

> much; does anyone know?

>

> Getting down to the wire,

>

> Christy

[Guest guest]

My guess is that the relapse comes more from the position of the

joints then the actual jaw itself? What I mean is that if your joint

is small or worn down, and your joint could have been positioned a

certain way, then you have surgery which could push your joint(s)

back, through which your jaw is pulled back again. It's the thing I

am scared of would happen with me, and it could happen over time, so

there is no saying that now after 6 weeks post-op it won't happen...

I feel ok up until now, no complains, only some joint pains sometimes

but nothing really serious. Anyone else have occasional joint pains 6

weeks post-op? Going to my ortho tomorrow so I'll probably get a

truckload of elastics...

Nathalie

> > Hi, everyone,

> >

> > I met with my surgeon yesterday to go over the final details pre-

> op

> > (I'm having my lower moved back 6mm.) He told me he would do a

> > vertical oblique. When I questioned why over the saggital split,

> he

> > said that there was less chance of relapse, and less chance of

> nerve

> > damage. I had heard that about the nerve damage, but was

> surprised

> > about the " less chance of relapse " for I had read somewhere that

> > there was a GREATER risk with the oblique. Any thoughts anyone?

> >

> > Also, he mentioned that in all cases there would be some relapse,

> > even minimal. I asked him if he would over-correct me due to

that

> > fact, and he said no, that my teeth would hold it. So I seemed

to

> > get mixed messages. What are the chances of relapse and by how

> > much; does anyone know?

> >

> > Getting down to the wire,

> >

> > Christy

[Guest guest]

If that's been his experience, I'd want him to go with whatever he

finds works best in his hands. That is, if I were doing it all again.

I had the sagittal split, and had no numbness, no relapse, no

troubles. But that was my surgeon's preference, in my case. I would

suspect that under other circumstances he might choose a different

procedure, and I'd trust him to pick the one he thought would work

best.

As for the overcorrection, I dunno. I have read that most do at least

a bit of that, just as the ortho goes a bit to the extreme in the

preparation.

But I do know that most of us, when we are post-op, do a lot of

feeling around, looking and generally checking things out. It may be

that he doesn't want to implant an idea in your imagination that will

be troublesome when you're in that stage of exploring your new

arrangements. I dunno.

And yes, Jay, it is possible for even a fixed jaw to relapse. It

doesn't happen often -- I don't know the stats -- but there have been

several people on the sites who have relapsed. A few have even had

surgery three times now. I think it is more common when people have

problematic joints, and that it is more common with open bites, but I

don't have any numbers to back up my opinions, which are only those

of a lay person.

It is not, I think, any failure of the screws or plates, but rather a

change in the relationships of the jaws and muscles.

Cammie

> I suspect your surgeon's ego will prevent him from saying he is

more

> comfortable with the oblique than the sagittal split procedure,

> therefore it's the procedure of chioce for him. Instead, he'll

tell

> you that the oblique is the better procedure.

>

> If you go to another surgeon he's likely to choose sagittal split.

>

> My understanding is that the oblique requires your jaws to be wired

> shut for 6 weeks whereas the sagittal split does not.

>

> ly the whole question of relapse confuses me. My surgeon never

> mentioned it, and I neglected to bring it up, so I have never heard

> a satisfactory explanation of what it is or why it occurs. It's

> hard for me to believe that they can split your jaw, reposition it,

> install 6 screws to hold that position, and then somehow the jaw

> mysteriously creeps back to its original position.

>

> Jay

>