oral distraction, is it the future?

[Guest guest]

Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

" upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to add

a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable alternative,

and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you believe

the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

" upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to add

a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable alternative,

and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you believe

the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

-I myself, had lower jaw advancement but I am a teacher and one of

the parents of my students had oral distraction about 15 years ago

and her jaw is moving backwards again! So I am not sure about it from

personal experience but that is what I know from heresay.

orthognathicsurgerysupport , " " <vbastian@h...>

wrote:

>

> Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

add

> a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

alternative,

> and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

believe

> the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

-I myself, had lower jaw advancement but I am a teacher and one of

the parents of my students had oral distraction about 15 years ago

and her jaw is moving backwards again! So I am not sure about it from

personal experience but that is what I know from heresay.

orthognathicsurgerysupport , " " <vbastian@h...>

wrote:

>

> Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

add

> a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

alternative,

> and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

believe

> the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

, I hope it is not the future.

It is even more invasive, from what I know of it, than jaw surgery.

It involves placing jackscrews which expand with the turning, and,

as one patient said, " It's like having a bone rebroken every time

it's turned. "

Every case I've heard of also had protruding screws, which means

that infection is also a concern. I do not know of anyone who has

suffered an infection, but I would be worried about it.

I believe that karen (minirascal) had it for both lower jaws, and

then later, when she developed some necrotic bone, in her TMJs.

I would do it, I suppose, if there were no alternative. Otherwise, I

don't think I want any part of it.

Cammie

>

> Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

add

> a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

alternative,

> and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

believe

> the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

, I hope it is not the future.

It is even more invasive, from what I know of it, than jaw surgery.

It involves placing jackscrews which expand with the turning, and,

as one patient said, " It's like having a bone rebroken every time

it's turned. "

Every case I've heard of also had protruding screws, which means

that infection is also a concern. I do not know of anyone who has

suffered an infection, but I would be worried about it.

I believe that karen (minirascal) had it for both lower jaws, and

then later, when she developed some necrotic bone, in her TMJs.

I would do it, I suppose, if there were no alternative. Otherwise, I

don't think I want any part of it.

Cammie

>

> Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

add

> a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

alternative,

> and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

believe

> the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

I went through two distractions. The first was to advance my lower

jaw and the second was to reconstruct the condyles. For the

mandibular advancement, my surgeon made the same cuts as with a

conventional BSSO and then placed the distractors across them. The

distractors were underneath my skin along my jawline and the screws

came out in my mouth just below my lower canines. They were on both

sides.

The restrictions on eating, talking, etc were similar to

conventional jaw surgery. Because my lower jaw was being moved

forward on a daily, I obviously was wired shut. I was however

tightly banded shut and my surgeon reconfigured the bands every

other day to accommodate the changing position. After the

distraction was complete (about 3 1/2 weeks post-op), I was banded

shut for another six weeks to allow the bone to completely fill in

(consolidate).

Normally I would have been able to advance to a soft diet after the

consolidation was complete but because of my TMJ issues, I ended up

being on a liquid diet for almost two years. In reality, the

downtime is actually a little longer.

Since the surgery is more complicated for the surgeon to perform and

the recovery tends to be a little longer and more difficult,

distraction is usually only used for larger advancements. My surgeon

only uses it for those who need more than 10 mm of advancement.

I also underwent a second distraction to rebuild my condyles.

Because of a congenital abnormality and severe degenerative

arthritis, I needed to have my TMJ's reconstructed as well. On the

one side, the condyle was completely gone (like the Class IIb

hemifacial microsomia on the molina website) and on the other side,

the joint was fused (ankylosed) with avascular necrosis. The surgeon

removed what was left of both condyles and rebuilt them using

distraction. The other alternative was to use artificial joints but

those tend to last 10-15 years at the most and since I am only 37,

that would have meant multiple joint replacements in the future.

Theoretically, since my new condyles are made of my own native bone,

they should last much longer. The cartilage was replaced with a

temporalis muscle graft.

So far, my new joints are functioning very well and have been very

stable. There has been no bone loss from either distraction. Here

are two websites from the manufacturer of my distractors. Mine were

custom designed by my surgeon specifically to fit my jaw but were

very similar to the Zurich mandibular distractors. The Molina site

shows where the cuts were made to reconstruct the condyles.

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/zurich_mand.htm

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/molina.htm

This site shows an example of a maxillary distraction (which I did

not undergo as my maxilla was only moved 5 mm).

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/zurich_max.htm

That's interesting that the first mandibular advancements were done

as early as the 1840's. Given the lack of anesthesia and aseptic

techniques, I definitely wouldn't have wanted to undergo jaw surgery

then!

If you're interested about a little history about distraction, it

was actually pioneered by a Russian orthopedic surgeon named

Ilizarov. He did not have access to the internal plates, screws and

rods that are used to treat long bone fractures here in the United

States. Instead he placed long screws perpendicular to the bones on

either side of the fractures that came out through the skin. He then

attached long rods to these screws to straighten out the bone and

let it heal. He also used this technique to lengthen bones in people

with limb length discrepancies or with dwarfism. He had great

success with these techniques so now Ilizarov devices are now also

used in the United States to treat complex fractures as well as for

bone growth.

If you got through my novel, I hope it answered your questions. Let

me know if you have any more.

>

> Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

add

> a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

alternative,

> and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

believe

> the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

I went through two distractions. The first was to advance my lower

jaw and the second was to reconstruct the condyles. For the

mandibular advancement, my surgeon made the same cuts as with a

conventional BSSO and then placed the distractors across them. The

distractors were underneath my skin along my jawline and the screws

came out in my mouth just below my lower canines. They were on both

sides.

The restrictions on eating, talking, etc were similar to

conventional jaw surgery. Because my lower jaw was being moved

forward on a daily, I obviously was wired shut. I was however

tightly banded shut and my surgeon reconfigured the bands every

other day to accommodate the changing position. After the

distraction was complete (about 3 1/2 weeks post-op), I was banded

shut for another six weeks to allow the bone to completely fill in

(consolidate).

Normally I would have been able to advance to a soft diet after the

consolidation was complete but because of my TMJ issues, I ended up

being on a liquid diet for almost two years. In reality, the

downtime is actually a little longer.

Since the surgery is more complicated for the surgeon to perform and

the recovery tends to be a little longer and more difficult,

distraction is usually only used for larger advancements. My surgeon

only uses it for those who need more than 10 mm of advancement.

I also underwent a second distraction to rebuild my condyles.

Because of a congenital abnormality and severe degenerative

arthritis, I needed to have my TMJ's reconstructed as well. On the

one side, the condyle was completely gone (like the Class IIb

hemifacial microsomia on the molina website) and on the other side,

the joint was fused (ankylosed) with avascular necrosis. The surgeon

removed what was left of both condyles and rebuilt them using

distraction. The other alternative was to use artificial joints but

those tend to last 10-15 years at the most and since I am only 37,

that would have meant multiple joint replacements in the future.

Theoretically, since my new condyles are made of my own native bone,

they should last much longer. The cartilage was replaced with a

temporalis muscle graft.

So far, my new joints are functioning very well and have been very

stable. There has been no bone loss from either distraction. Here

are two websites from the manufacturer of my distractors. Mine were

custom designed by my surgeon specifically to fit my jaw but were

very similar to the Zurich mandibular distractors. The Molina site

shows where the cuts were made to reconstruct the condyles.

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/zurich_mand.htm

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/molina.htm

This site shows an example of a maxillary distraction (which I did

not undergo as my maxilla was only moved 5 mm).

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/zurich_max.htm

That's interesting that the first mandibular advancements were done

as early as the 1840's. Given the lack of anesthesia and aseptic

techniques, I definitely wouldn't have wanted to undergo jaw surgery

then!

If you're interested about a little history about distraction, it

was actually pioneered by a Russian orthopedic surgeon named

Ilizarov. He did not have access to the internal plates, screws and

rods that are used to treat long bone fractures here in the United

States. Instead he placed long screws perpendicular to the bones on

either side of the fractures that came out through the skin. He then

attached long rods to these screws to straighten out the bone and

let it heal. He also used this technique to lengthen bones in people

with limb length discrepancies or with dwarfism. He had great

success with these techniques so now Ilizarov devices are now also

used in the United States to treat complex fractures as well as for

bone growth.

If you got through my novel, I hope it answered your questions. Let

me know if you have any more.

>

> Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

add

> a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

alternative,

> and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

believe

> the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

, you are one of the most courageous stories I have read the

last 5 years investigating oral surgeries. Congratulations on your

state now and all the best in the future. I only did a minor

procedure and I am still miserable the first week. Yet you have

endured 2 years of liquid diet and multiple procedures. You are a

sign of inspiration to all.

Continued success.

> >

> > Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> > " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> > correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> > interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> > it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> > not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> > distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> > post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

> add

> > a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> > of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> > placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> > advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> > etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> > conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> > intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

> alternative,

> > and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> > require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> > developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> > enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> > downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> > practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

> believe

> > the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> > early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> > area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> > consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

, you are one of the most courageous stories I have read the

last 5 years investigating oral surgeries. Congratulations on your

state now and all the best in the future. I only did a minor

procedure and I am still miserable the first week. Yet you have

endured 2 years of liquid diet and multiple procedures. You are a

sign of inspiration to all.

Continued success.

> >

> > Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> > " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full profile

> > correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> > interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I check

> > it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they do

> > not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> > distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> > post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

> add

> > a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily advancements

> > of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction unit

> > placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> > advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> > etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as in

> > conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> > intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

> alternative,

> > and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> > require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> > developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> > enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> > downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> > practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

> believe

> > the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's, and

> > early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the maxillary

> > area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> > consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing that information, I'm certain there are

potential patients reading this board who will find your post

helpful. It is also informative to get a patient's perspective. With

your information and other posts I would tend to believe that

distraction is very useful as you said for large advancements or

other special applications. But it sounds like recovery is

probably more difficult than conventional surgery due to the

distraction period lasting for several weeks. So it probably isn't

going to replace standard osseous techniques, but who knows

maybe sometime in the future this will all be done by lasers, or

magnetism, or something we haven't even dreamed of yet.

> >

> > Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> > " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full

profile

> > correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> > interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I

check

> > it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they

do

> > not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> > distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> > post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

> add

> > a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily

advancements

> > of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction

unit

> > placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> > advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> > etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as

in

> > conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> > intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

> alternative,

> > and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> > require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> > developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> > enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> > downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> > practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

> believe

> > the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's,

and

> > early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the

maxillary

> > area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> > consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing that information, I'm certain there are

potential patients reading this board who will find your post

helpful. It is also informative to get a patient's perspective. With

your information and other posts I would tend to believe that

distraction is very useful as you said for large advancements or

other special applications. But it sounds like recovery is

probably more difficult than conventional surgery due to the

distraction period lasting for several weeks. So it probably isn't

going to replace standard osseous techniques, but who knows

maybe sometime in the future this will all be done by lasers, or

magnetism, or something we haven't even dreamed of yet.

> >

> > Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> > " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full

profile

> > correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> > interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I

check

> > it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they

do

> > not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> > distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> > post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like to

> add

> > a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily

advancements

> > of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction

unit

> > placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> > advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> > etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as

in

> > conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> > intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

> alternative,

> > and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> > require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> > developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> > enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> > downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> > practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

> believe

> > the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's,

and

> > early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the

maxillary

> > area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> > consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

Talking about the future and lasers/magnetism, I think the simplest

way is genetic. One day we will know which proteins contol chin and

jaw growth. ALl we have to do is " activate " them as they are during

teenage years for a small period to get the growth and then shut them

off. YOu get your growth without surgery. Cool huh?

> > >

> > > Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> > > " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full

> profile

> > > correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> > > interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I

> check

> > > it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they

> do

> > > not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> > > distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> > > post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like

to

> > add

> > > a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily

> advancements

> > > of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction

> unit

> > > placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> > > advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> > > etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as

> in

> > > conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> > > intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

> > alternative,

> > > and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> > > require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> > > developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> > > enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> > > downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> > > practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

> > believe

> > > the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's,

> and

> > > early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the

> maxillary

> > > area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> > > consisted of) to finish the movement.

[Guest guest]

Talking about the future and lasers/magnetism, I think the simplest

way is genetic. One day we will know which proteins contol chin and

jaw growth. ALl we have to do is " activate " them as they are during

teenage years for a small period to get the growth and then shut them

off. YOu get your growth without surgery. Cool huh?

> > >

> > > Although my jaw surgery was ten years ago and I recently

> > > " upgraded " by having a second genioplasty to obtain full

> profile

> > > correction, I find the oral distraction technique to be quite

> > > interesting. A fellow patient on this board recommended I

> check

> > > it out as a possibility for my chin issues, and although they

> do

> > > not appear to to distraction for chin advancement, I found the

> > > distraction website to be very interesting. There was a recent

> > > post from a distraction patient and if you read this, I'd like

to

> > add

> > > a couple questions. You mentioned that the daily

> advancements

> > > of the screw mechanism were quite painful. Is a distraction

> unit

> > > placed on both sides of your jaw? and was yours for lower

> > > advancement or upper? I'm curious too about eating, talking,

> > > etc. Apparently there isn't the same degree of restriction as

> in

> > > conventional jaw surgery, but those distractors look quite

> > > intimidating. It certainly looks like this is a very viable

> > alternative,

> > > and may be particularly helpful in cases that would otherwise

> > > require bone grafts. It seems from my studies of historical

> > > developments of medical techniques that if a certain protocol

> > > enables patients to obtain superior results with overall less

> > > downtime and suffering it eventually becomes a mainstream

> > > practice. And just for interesting sideline info: Would you

> > believe

> > > the first mandibular advancement was done in the 1840's,

> and

> > > early maxillary procedures only partially mobilized the

> maxillary

> > > area and relied on external traction (who knows what that

> > > consisted of) to finish the movement.