Guest guest Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Hello, my name is Kerris I am having upper and lower jaw surgery in Feb or March. This is necessary due to a genetic condition I was born with that resulted in my having to have all of my teeth exposed and pulled into my mouth with chains/braces. My bite has steadily gotten worse over the past seven years of treatment to the point that I can no longer chew food and have lost a significant amount of weight. I am worried about the surgery mostly b/c I'm afraid it will change my face so much that I will be unrecognizable. I am also concerned that I'll wish I had never had the surgery and had just left well enough alone, as I have heard stories about people that have looked horrible after having jaw surgery and there's no way to reverse that. Has anyone had this surgery that can let me know what kind of changes to my face I can expect? The surgeon has assured me that I will definitely look better after the surgery, and I am very self-conscious about the way my jaw looks when I talk as you can tell the lower is shifted way to the left and the upper is to the right, but I tend to be distrustful of doctors who tell you " everything will be fine. " I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me...Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Hello, my name is Kerris I am having upper and lower jaw surgery in Feb or March. This is necessary due to a genetic condition I was born with that resulted in my having to have all of my teeth exposed and pulled into my mouth with chains/braces. My bite has steadily gotten worse over the past seven years of treatment to the point that I can no longer chew food and have lost a significant amount of weight. I am worried about the surgery mostly b/c I'm afraid it will change my face so much that I will be unrecognizable. I am also concerned that I'll wish I had never had the surgery and had just left well enough alone, as I have heard stories about people that have looked horrible after having jaw surgery and there's no way to reverse that. Has anyone had this surgery that can let me know what kind of changes to my face I can expect? The surgeon has assured me that I will definitely look better after the surgery, and I am very self-conscious about the way my jaw looks when I talk as you can tell the lower is shifted way to the left and the upper is to the right, but I tend to be distrustful of doctors who tell you " everything will be fine. " I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me...Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hello there, I had upper, lower, and a genioplasty. I am four weeks post op. My profile is much nicer. I used to have a very bad overbite and now I actually think it looks nice (minus the chipmunk cheeks I still have) My chin is softer due to the genioplasty. It used to be long and pointy, but you could not notice it all that much because of the big overbite. I am a big girl (I am overweight)so I now notice the fat under my chin more due to the genioplasty. I am hoping that will go away when I lose some weight. Hang in there. Trust your OS. If he/she says you will look better, you probably will. Shauna > > > Date: 2004/11/24 Wed AM 06:51:13 GMT > To: orthognathicsurgerysupport > Subject: [Orthognathic Surgery Support ] What should I expect? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hello there, I had upper, lower, and a genioplasty. I am four weeks post op. My profile is much nicer. I used to have a very bad overbite and now I actually think it looks nice (minus the chipmunk cheeks I still have) My chin is softer due to the genioplasty. It used to be long and pointy, but you could not notice it all that much because of the big overbite. I am a big girl (I am overweight)so I now notice the fat under my chin more due to the genioplasty. I am hoping that will go away when I lose some weight. Hang in there. Trust your OS. If he/she says you will look better, you probably will. Shauna > > > Date: 2004/11/24 Wed AM 06:51:13 GMT > To: orthognathicsurgerysupport > Subject: [Orthognathic Surgery Support ] What should I expect? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Kerris, Sounds like you have a short jaw on one side. If so, its the same as I had. There was a period when I said I should have never had the surgery because the healing process was soooo long and I was afraid my " look " at those moments was the final result, but it gets better everyday. I am almost back to normal with the exception that my face is not crooked anymore! Yepee! I know that appearance is very important to most of us, but sounds like you have a functional problem that must be corrected. I know it is difficult to put your life in the hands of a surgeon, but this kind of surgery is not the norm. By the time your surgery date gets here and during the year following your surgery, your OS will know you very well and will have a more personal interest in your well being than the average surgeon. I have had surgeries in the past where I saw my doc once before and once after and that was it. Once during one my visits with my OS prior to surgery, I was going over all my fears and he told me that no one wanted a better result than he did. Later, post surgery when I was complaining about " my look " , he told me to give it more time and that he was just as anxious as I was. He was right, everything worked out perfectly. Sometimes we just have to trust them. Keep us posted. We are all pulling for you. Pam > > Hello, my name is Kerris I am having upper and lower jaw surgery in > Feb or March. This is necessary due to a genetic condition I was > born with that resulted in my having to have all of my teeth exposed > and pulled into my mouth with chains/braces. My bite has steadily > gotten worse over the past seven years of treatment to the point > that I can no longer chew food and have lost a significant amount of > weight. I am worried about the surgery mostly b/c I'm afraid it > will change my face so much that I will be unrecognizable. I am > also concerned that I'll wish I had never had the surgery and had > just left well enough alone, as I have heard stories about people > that have looked horrible after having jaw surgery and there's no > way to reverse that. Has anyone had this surgery that can let me > know what kind of changes to my face I can expect? The surgeon has > assured me that I will definitely look better after the surgery, and > I am very self-conscious about the way my jaw looks when I talk as > you can tell the lower is shifted way to the left and the upper is > to the right, but I tend to be distrustful of doctors who tell > you " everything will be fine. " I would really appreciate any > feedback you can give me...Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Kerris, Sounds like you have a short jaw on one side. If so, its the same as I had. There was a period when I said I should have never had the surgery because the healing process was soooo long and I was afraid my " look " at those moments was the final result, but it gets better everyday. I am almost back to normal with the exception that my face is not crooked anymore! Yepee! I know that appearance is very important to most of us, but sounds like you have a functional problem that must be corrected. I know it is difficult to put your life in the hands of a surgeon, but this kind of surgery is not the norm. By the time your surgery date gets here and during the year following your surgery, your OS will know you very well and will have a more personal interest in your well being than the average surgeon. I have had surgeries in the past where I saw my doc once before and once after and that was it. Once during one my visits with my OS prior to surgery, I was going over all my fears and he told me that no one wanted a better result than he did. Later, post surgery when I was complaining about " my look " , he told me to give it more time and that he was just as anxious as I was. He was right, everything worked out perfectly. Sometimes we just have to trust them. Keep us posted. We are all pulling for you. Pam > > Hello, my name is Kerris I am having upper and lower jaw surgery in > Feb or March. This is necessary due to a genetic condition I was > born with that resulted in my having to have all of my teeth exposed > and pulled into my mouth with chains/braces. My bite has steadily > gotten worse over the past seven years of treatment to the point > that I can no longer chew food and have lost a significant amount of > weight. I am worried about the surgery mostly b/c I'm afraid it > will change my face so much that I will be unrecognizable. I am > also concerned that I'll wish I had never had the surgery and had > just left well enough alone, as I have heard stories about people > that have looked horrible after having jaw surgery and there's no > way to reverse that. Has anyone had this surgery that can let me > know what kind of changes to my face I can expect? The surgeon has > assured me that I will definitely look better after the surgery, and > I am very self-conscious about the way my jaw looks when I talk as > you can tell the lower is shifted way to the left and the upper is > to the right, but I tend to be distrustful of doctors who tell > you " everything will be fine. " I would really appreciate any > feedback you can give me...Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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