Guest guest Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Wow, Helen, I may have to be wired shut when I have surgery my OS says that he cannot tell me until he actually gets in there and moves the jaw... Did you feel afraid (being wired shut)? Sadie hmakosky wrote: Hi Sophia, I had lower jaw surgery on July 15th and I was wired/banded shut for the entire 6 weeks. Wiring vs. banding didn't make much difference (I was wired for 2 weeks and actually had more space between my teeth to suck down thicker things than when I got about 25 rubber bands on for the remaining 4 weeks). I don't know of a website explaining the differences between the two cuts. I think that it is basically just what your OS said and whether he cuts behind the nerve or through the nerve has more to do with his/her comfort level than anything else. My surgeon was self described very conservative in his approach and felt that the outcome was better (less risk of permananent numbness) if he allowed no mobility for 6 weeks. Another surgeon in my area does the screws uses bands and usually the people are able to eat solid foods quicker. I'll be honest here, the being wired shut for 6 weeks and the first 10 days after surgery (nausea from the nasal tube, drugs and anesthesia) were worse than the surgery itself but I made it through. I was so jealous of people who were able to eat soft foods at about 10 days, but I did survive 6 weeks and I have absolutely no numbness. In fact, my dentist said if he didn't know where I was cut, he wouldn't even be able to tell that I had jaw surgery and no screws as reminders. Anyway, there's my experience. I hope it's helpful. If you do end up having to be wired for 6 weeks let me know and I can give you some of my diet suggestions. Knowing what I was going to eat everyday really helped me out. To this day, I still can't bring myself to drink a fruit smoothie or a protein shake! Helen > For my lower jaw surgery, my surgeon just explained to me the difference between cutting on the nerve and cutting on the bone behind the nerve. Difference being wired shut for 6 weeks (natural healing) vs. 2 weeks (screws). Does anyone know of a good resource that explains this in details and the risks, etc of these two types of surgeries? > > My sugeon is recommending cutting behind the nerve and being wired for 6 weeks because it reduces the risk of temporary and permanent numbness but I'd also love to hear from people who've been through this. Right now I can't imagine not eating anything semi-solid for a month and a half. > > Thanks, > Sophia > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! – Try it today! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Wow, Helen, I may have to be wired shut when I have surgery my OS says that he cannot tell me until he actually gets in there and moves the jaw... Did you feel afraid (being wired shut)? Sadie hmakosky wrote: Hi Sophia, I had lower jaw surgery on July 15th and I was wired/banded shut for the entire 6 weeks. Wiring vs. banding didn't make much difference (I was wired for 2 weeks and actually had more space between my teeth to suck down thicker things than when I got about 25 rubber bands on for the remaining 4 weeks). I don't know of a website explaining the differences between the two cuts. I think that it is basically just what your OS said and whether he cuts behind the nerve or through the nerve has more to do with his/her comfort level than anything else. My surgeon was self described very conservative in his approach and felt that the outcome was better (less risk of permananent numbness) if he allowed no mobility for 6 weeks. Another surgeon in my area does the screws uses bands and usually the people are able to eat solid foods quicker. I'll be honest here, the being wired shut for 6 weeks and the first 10 days after surgery (nausea from the nasal tube, drugs and anesthesia) were worse than the surgery itself but I made it through. I was so jealous of people who were able to eat soft foods at about 10 days, but I did survive 6 weeks and I have absolutely no numbness. In fact, my dentist said if he didn't know where I was cut, he wouldn't even be able to tell that I had jaw surgery and no screws as reminders. Anyway, there's my experience. I hope it's helpful. If you do end up having to be wired for 6 weeks let me know and I can give you some of my diet suggestions. Knowing what I was going to eat everyday really helped me out. To this day, I still can't bring myself to drink a fruit smoothie or a protein shake! Helen > For my lower jaw surgery, my surgeon just explained to me the difference between cutting on the nerve and cutting on the bone behind the nerve. Difference being wired shut for 6 weeks (natural healing) vs. 2 weeks (screws). Does anyone know of a good resource that explains this in details and the risks, etc of these two types of surgeries? > > My sugeon is recommending cutting behind the nerve and being wired for 6 weeks because it reduces the risk of temporary and permanent numbness but I'd also love to hear from people who've been through this. Right now I can't imagine not eating anything semi-solid for a month and a half. > > Thanks, > Sophia > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! – Try it today! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Hi Sadie-- I think that I was afraid of being wired/banded shut, actually more than the surgery itself (though, I was afraid of the surgery and being in the hospital because I was never in the hospital except for the birth of our son). My surgery took about 45 minutes and the pain really was about the pain of having wisdom teeth removed. Though I was on pain killers for about the first 3 days so I don't know how accurate my assessment of my pain was. Re: being banded shut...I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to breathe or talk. I have a slightly deviated septum and sometimes I breathe through my mouth (when sleeping mostly) so I was afraid that if I couldn't open my mouth I wouldn't be able to breathe. Not true. Basically, what I found was that even with the rubber bands holding my jaw shut, there is still space between your teeth to breathe, cough, sneeze, vomit, drink, eat pureed things, etc. I also had a sleeping wedge that really helped at night. I had lower jaw surgery only so I didn't have a lot of the nasal congestion that people who have upper jaw surgery often complain about. As far as talking, that was more of an inconvenience than anything else. I am a medical librarian and work at a reference desk so I was paranoid about having to communicate with people, but it was fine. I had a hard time saying " s " s and " th " but that was about it. I think my OS said it best, being wired shut is mostly a very frustrating thing and that's the truth. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, please ask. Helen > > For my lower jaw surgery, my surgeon just explained to me the > difference between cutting on the nerve and cutting on the bone > behind the nerve. Difference being wired shut for 6 weeks (natural > healing) vs. 2 weeks (screws). Does anyone know of a good resource > that explains this in details and the risks, etc of these two types > of surgeries? > > > > My sugeon is recommending cutting behind the nerve and being wired > for 6 weeks because it reduces the risk of temporary and permanent > numbness but I'd also love to hear from people who've been through > this. Right now I can't imagine not eating anything semi-solid for a > month and a half. > > > > Thanks, > > Sophia > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! – Try it today! > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Hi Sadie-- I think that I was afraid of being wired/banded shut, actually more than the surgery itself (though, I was afraid of the surgery and being in the hospital because I was never in the hospital except for the birth of our son). My surgery took about 45 minutes and the pain really was about the pain of having wisdom teeth removed. Though I was on pain killers for about the first 3 days so I don't know how accurate my assessment of my pain was. Re: being banded shut...I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to breathe or talk. I have a slightly deviated septum and sometimes I breathe through my mouth (when sleeping mostly) so I was afraid that if I couldn't open my mouth I wouldn't be able to breathe. Not true. Basically, what I found was that even with the rubber bands holding my jaw shut, there is still space between your teeth to breathe, cough, sneeze, vomit, drink, eat pureed things, etc. I also had a sleeping wedge that really helped at night. I had lower jaw surgery only so I didn't have a lot of the nasal congestion that people who have upper jaw surgery often complain about. As far as talking, that was more of an inconvenience than anything else. I am a medical librarian and work at a reference desk so I was paranoid about having to communicate with people, but it was fine. I had a hard time saying " s " s and " th " but that was about it. I think my OS said it best, being wired shut is mostly a very frustrating thing and that's the truth. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, please ask. Helen > > For my lower jaw surgery, my surgeon just explained to me the > difference between cutting on the nerve and cutting on the bone > behind the nerve. Difference being wired shut for 6 weeks (natural > healing) vs. 2 weeks (screws). Does anyone know of a good resource > that explains this in details and the risks, etc of these two types > of surgeries? > > > > My sugeon is recommending cutting behind the nerve and being wired > for 6 weeks because it reduces the risk of temporary and permanent > numbness but I'd also love to hear from people who've been through > this. Right now I can't imagine not eating anything semi-solid for a > month and a half. > > > > Thanks, > > Sophia > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! – Try it today! > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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