Re: I have a surgery date!! But still not sure what type of surgery :)

[Guest guest]

Irene - I think I am in the exact same boat as you. With two weeks

before the surgery it was left up to me to do just the lower (the

absolutely neccessary part) or add the upper as well (my upper jaw

is slightly tipped in my mouth). My OS said that it is not critical

for functional reasons, but would give the " perfect " smile. I asked

about the difference in recovery and he said the primary difference

is in the swelling, that there will be a lot more swelling

associated with having the upper done than just the lower. I decided

to go ahead and have both done. My surgery is this Tuesday, the

14th. I am still able to have both done as an outpatient (a huge

plus for me) and I will be able to tell you after how the recovery

is. For me, the bottom line was that I didn't want to be five years

down the road and think " ah, if only I had had both done " , you know?

Because even though I am doing this for functional reasons, I am

really looking forward to the cosmetic benefit as well. Well I hope

this helps a little, good luck!

-Colleen

>

> Hi everybody,

>

> I finally have my surgery scheduled - Feb 24th, 2005. Can't wait

for

> this whole thing to be over, but I know that the hardest part is

still

> ahead. My OS told me previously that there was a possibility that

I

> would need to do both upper and lower, but currently it looks like

I

> can get away with just the lower (good news!). The bad news is

that

> there is still an option of doing upper as well, and that was left

up

> to me to decide if I want it or not. Upper would be for mostly

> cosmetic reasons. I have asked the OS to send me a computer

> simulation of how I would look like after each type of surgery, so

> that I can decide. I know I should be asking my OS these

questions,

> but I think people who actually went through the surgeries might

have

> a better insight into this: how much worse is the recovery from

upper

> and lower vs. just the lower? Can anyone help me with this?

>

> Thanks.

> Irene.

[Guest guest]

Irene - I think I am in the exact same boat as you. With two weeks

before the surgery it was left up to me to do just the lower (the

absolutely neccessary part) or add the upper as well (my upper jaw

is slightly tipped in my mouth). My OS said that it is not critical

for functional reasons, but would give the " perfect " smile. I asked

about the difference in recovery and he said the primary difference

is in the swelling, that there will be a lot more swelling

associated with having the upper done than just the lower. I decided

to go ahead and have both done. My surgery is this Tuesday, the

14th. I am still able to have both done as an outpatient (a huge

plus for me) and I will be able to tell you after how the recovery

is. For me, the bottom line was that I didn't want to be five years

down the road and think " ah, if only I had had both done " , you know?

Because even though I am doing this for functional reasons, I am

really looking forward to the cosmetic benefit as well. Well I hope

this helps a little, good luck!

-Colleen

>

> Hi everybody,

>

> I finally have my surgery scheduled - Feb 24th, 2005. Can't wait

for

> this whole thing to be over, but I know that the hardest part is

still

> ahead. My OS told me previously that there was a possibility that

I

> would need to do both upper and lower, but currently it looks like

I

> can get away with just the lower (good news!). The bad news is

that

> there is still an option of doing upper as well, and that was left

up

> to me to decide if I want it or not. Upper would be for mostly

> cosmetic reasons. I have asked the OS to send me a computer

> simulation of how I would look like after each type of surgery, so

> that I can decide. I know I should be asking my OS these

questions,

> but I think people who actually went through the surgeries might

have

> a better insight into this: how much worse is the recovery from

upper

> and lower vs. just the lower? Can anyone help me with this?

>

> Thanks.

> Irene.

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen,

Thanks for your post. Yes, it looks like both of us are in the same

boat. The " 5 years from now " question concerns me as well. My upper

jaw is a little misalighed, but not nearly as bad as the lower one

(which is why I'm having the surgery in the first place). My OS said

that doing the upper will give me somewhat of a toothier smile, and

will make my nose appear smaller (I have a large nose, but I don't

mind it, most of my family has one as well ). My main concern is

that the upper one being misalligned might somehow effect the

long-term stability of my bite, but the OS said that shouldn't be the

case. Anyways, I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and

recovery, and will be waiting to hear all about it in the coming weeks!

Irene.

>

> Irene - I think I am in the exact same boat as you. With two weeks

> before the surgery it was left up to me to do just the lower (the

> absolutely neccessary part) or add the upper as well (my upper jaw

> is slightly tipped in my mouth). My OS said that it is not critical

> for functional reasons, but would give the " perfect " smile. I asked

> about the difference in recovery and he said the primary difference

> is in the swelling, that there will be a lot more swelling

> associated with having the upper done than just the lower. I decided

> to go ahead and have both done. My surgery is this Tuesday, the

> 14th. I am still able to have both done as an outpatient (a huge

> plus for me) and I will be able to tell you after how the recovery

> is. For me, the bottom line was that I didn't want to be five years

> down the road and think " ah, if only I had had both done " , you know?

> Because even though I am doing this for functional reasons, I am

> really looking forward to the cosmetic benefit as well. Well I hope

> this helps a little, good luck!

> -Colleen

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen,

Thanks for your post. Yes, it looks like both of us are in the same

boat. The " 5 years from now " question concerns me as well. My upper

jaw is a little misalighed, but not nearly as bad as the lower one

(which is why I'm having the surgery in the first place). My OS said

that doing the upper will give me somewhat of a toothier smile, and

will make my nose appear smaller (I have a large nose, but I don't

mind it, most of my family has one as well ). My main concern is

that the upper one being misalligned might somehow effect the

long-term stability of my bite, but the OS said that shouldn't be the

case. Anyways, I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and

recovery, and will be waiting to hear all about it in the coming weeks!

Irene.

>

> Irene - I think I am in the exact same boat as you. With two weeks

> before the surgery it was left up to me to do just the lower (the

> absolutely neccessary part) or add the upper as well (my upper jaw

> is slightly tipped in my mouth). My OS said that it is not critical

> for functional reasons, but would give the " perfect " smile. I asked

> about the difference in recovery and he said the primary difference

> is in the swelling, that there will be a lot more swelling

> associated with having the upper done than just the lower. I decided

> to go ahead and have both done. My surgery is this Tuesday, the

> 14th. I am still able to have both done as an outpatient (a huge

> plus for me) and I will be able to tell you after how the recovery

> is. For me, the bottom line was that I didn't want to be five years

> down the road and think " ah, if only I had had both done " , you know?

> Because even though I am doing this for functional reasons, I am

> really looking forward to the cosmetic benefit as well. Well I hope

> this helps a little, good luck!

> -Colleen

>