Re: Need SPECIFIC answers about surgery

[Guest guest]

I didn't have this, so maybe I should keep my yap shut. But I can

answer some of it.

1. You can find detailed explanations of the cuts etc., in the links

and/or files here, and on site 2, some with pictures, if I'm

remembering right.

2. Some folks have this done with the SARPE procedure, before even

the braces are installed. This does involve surgery, and best I

understand it, they usually do make some nicks along the top arch to

let it open up, and install an expander which you turn with a tiny

key untill the gap is large enough. Then the ortho closes the gap and

works with the new room provided to give you a nice balance.

In some other cases, I think, they segment the palate and expand it

while they're doing the Le Fort procedure.

For me, I had a narrow palate, with a v-shaped arch, but my ortho was

able to do enough correction with the brackets and archwires, plus

judicious applications of elastics, to get what I needed. I was

grateful to be spared the upper surgery, not that people don't do it

successfully every day. Lots of people.

4. That totally depends on your surgeon's preference, and on what

happens in the OR. I don't think there's any such thing as typical...

Ask the surgeons you see how THEY do it. Mine told me he hadn't wired

anybody shut in a decade -- but I didn't ask him whether he referred

to all procedures or only to lowers. I think he meant all of them,

though, except possibly accidental injuries.

5. Some surgeons use elastic bands (the same sort the ortho uses, in

varying sizes and configurations) rather than wiring, to stabilize

and support the joints. I went home with neither, but did have a

wired in splint in my upper brace. Some surgeons do this very

tightly, so that you can't open any more than if you were wired. Some

do it loosely. And some, on occasion, do it not at all.

6. The splint -- at least mine -- was a plastic wafer about the size

of a half-dollar (remember the half-dollar?) that was wired into my

upper brace for seven weeks. I could not remove it at all, and it

felt lots bigger than it was. It was not pleasant, but it was not

awful. I sounded like Thylvethter the Cat with it in, but was able to

make myself understood. My doc told me it was meant to keep my jaw

from bouncing around all over the place.

Have a look at Fiddlesticks' geocities site (look in the links,

here and on site 2) for FAQs you might want to ask your docs. You

will also find some personal accounts of orthognathic surgeries for

various procedures - I don't remember specifically whether there are

any that exactly match your circumstance, but I know that there have

been lots of folks on both sites who had those problems.

Cammie

>

> 1. What and how exactly do they do a LeFort 1 osteotomy? Do they

> actually saw your upper jaw off above the tooth roots from side to

> side?

>

> 2. How exactly do they widen the pallet? Incision in the roof of

the

> mouth and then split the bone along it's length?

>

> 3. Will I have to have some sort of pallet expander glued to the

roof

> of my mouth for 6 months?

>

> 4. Do they typically wire the jaws shut for upper surgery?

>

> 5. What's all this talk about " bands " and " banding " ? What exactly

are

> these " bands " , what do they do, might I need them for upper

surgery,

> and and how long might I need to use them? I've been unable to find

> anything on the web about exactly this is/are/means.

>

> 6. " Splinting " ? what is this? Is it like the night bite guard I

> currently use? Will I need one of these for upper surgery? Will I

be

> able to take it out to talk at work?

>

> 7. I have lots of others - but will start with these if anyone is

> willing to take a whack at them. The more details the better.

> Information is goooood!

>

> Thanks much!!

>

> (Please also feel free to e-mail me directly also at

> pilsner_porterstout@y...)

[Guest guest]

I didn't have this, so maybe I should keep my yap shut. But I can

answer some of it.

1. You can find detailed explanations of the cuts etc., in the links

and/or files here, and on site 2, some with pictures, if I'm

remembering right.

2. Some folks have this done with the SARPE procedure, before even

the braces are installed. This does involve surgery, and best I

understand it, they usually do make some nicks along the top arch to

let it open up, and install an expander which you turn with a tiny

key untill the gap is large enough. Then the ortho closes the gap and

works with the new room provided to give you a nice balance.

In some other cases, I think, they segment the palate and expand it

while they're doing the Le Fort procedure.

For me, I had a narrow palate, with a v-shaped arch, but my ortho was

able to do enough correction with the brackets and archwires, plus

judicious applications of elastics, to get what I needed. I was

grateful to be spared the upper surgery, not that people don't do it

successfully every day. Lots of people.

4. That totally depends on your surgeon's preference, and on what

happens in the OR. I don't think there's any such thing as typical...

Ask the surgeons you see how THEY do it. Mine told me he hadn't wired

anybody shut in a decade -- but I didn't ask him whether he referred

to all procedures or only to lowers. I think he meant all of them,

though, except possibly accidental injuries.

5. Some surgeons use elastic bands (the same sort the ortho uses, in

varying sizes and configurations) rather than wiring, to stabilize

and support the joints. I went home with neither, but did have a

wired in splint in my upper brace. Some surgeons do this very

tightly, so that you can't open any more than if you were wired. Some

do it loosely. And some, on occasion, do it not at all.

6. The splint -- at least mine -- was a plastic wafer about the size

of a half-dollar (remember the half-dollar?) that was wired into my

upper brace for seven weeks. I could not remove it at all, and it

felt lots bigger than it was. It was not pleasant, but it was not

awful. I sounded like Thylvethter the Cat with it in, but was able to

make myself understood. My doc told me it was meant to keep my jaw

from bouncing around all over the place.

Have a look at Fiddlesticks' geocities site (look in the links,

here and on site 2) for FAQs you might want to ask your docs. You

will also find some personal accounts of orthognathic surgeries for

various procedures - I don't remember specifically whether there are

any that exactly match your circumstance, but I know that there have

been lots of folks on both sites who had those problems.

Cammie

>

> 1. What and how exactly do they do a LeFort 1 osteotomy? Do they

> actually saw your upper jaw off above the tooth roots from side to

> side?

>

> 2. How exactly do they widen the pallet? Incision in the roof of

the

> mouth and then split the bone along it's length?

>

> 3. Will I have to have some sort of pallet expander glued to the

roof

> of my mouth for 6 months?

>

> 4. Do they typically wire the jaws shut for upper surgery?

>

> 5. What's all this talk about " bands " and " banding " ? What exactly

are

> these " bands " , what do they do, might I need them for upper

surgery,

> and and how long might I need to use them? I've been unable to find

> anything on the web about exactly this is/are/means.

>

> 6. " Splinting " ? what is this? Is it like the night bite guard I

> currently use? Will I need one of these for upper surgery? Will I

be

> able to take it out to talk at work?

>

> 7. I have lots of others - but will start with these if anyone is

> willing to take a whack at them. The more details the better.

> Information is goooood!

>

> Thanks much!!

>

> (Please also feel free to e-mail me directly also at

> pilsner_porterstout@y...)

[Guest guest]

Thanks,

I'm going to Ortho #3 on monday and # 4 on 8/30. At that time I'll

start consults with surgons (which I have no doubt won't be

complimentary like the orthodontists are...) to see what they say.

God - I wish I dealt with this when I was 18 and not 44...sigh...

> I didn't have this, so maybe I should keep my yap shut. But I can

> answer some of it.

>

> 1. You can find detailed explanations of the cuts etc., in the

links

> and/or files here, and on site 2, some with pictures, if I'm

> remembering right.

>

> 2. Some folks have this done with the SARPE procedure, before even

> the braces are installed. This does involve surgery, and best I

> understand it, they usually do make some nicks along the top arch

to

> let it open up, and install an expander which you turn with a tiny

> key untill the gap is large enough. Then the ortho closes the gap

and

> works with the new room provided to give you a nice balance.

>

> In some other cases, I think, they segment the palate and expand it

> while they're doing the Le Fort procedure.

>

> For me, I had a narrow palate, with a v-shaped arch, but my ortho

was

> able to do enough correction with the brackets and archwires, plus

> judicious applications of elastics, to get what I needed. I was

> grateful to be spared the upper surgery, not that people don't do

it

> successfully every day. Lots of people.

>

> 4. That totally depends on your surgeon's preference, and on what

> happens in the OR. I don't think there's any such thing as

typical...

> Ask the surgeons you see how THEY do it. Mine told me he hadn't

wired

> anybody shut in a decade -- but I didn't ask him whether he

referred

> to all procedures or only to lowers. I think he meant all of them,

> though, except possibly accidental injuries.

>

> 5. Some surgeons use elastic bands (the same sort the ortho uses,

in

> varying sizes and configurations) rather than wiring, to stabilize

> and support the joints. I went home with neither, but did have a

> wired in splint in my upper brace. Some surgeons do this very

> tightly, so that you can't open any more than if you were wired.

Some

> do it loosely. And some, on occasion, do it not at all.

>

> 6. The splint -- at least mine -- was a plastic wafer about the

size

> of a half-dollar (remember the half-dollar?) that was wired into my

> upper brace for seven weeks. I could not remove it at all, and it

> felt lots bigger than it was. It was not pleasant, but it was not

> awful. I sounded like Thylvethter the Cat with it in, but was able

to

> make myself understood. My doc told me it was meant to keep my jaw

> from bouncing around all over the place.

>

> Have a look at Fiddlesticks' geocities site (look in the

links,

> here and on site 2) for FAQs you might want to ask your docs. You

> will also find some personal accounts of orthognathic surgeries for

> various procedures - I don't remember specifically whether there

are

> any that exactly match your circumstance, but I know that there

have

> been lots of folks on both sites who had those problems.

>

> Cammie

>

> >

> > 1. What and how exactly do they do a LeFort 1 osteotomy? Do they

> > actually saw your upper jaw off above the tooth roots from side

to

> > side?

> >

> > 2. How exactly do they widen the pallet? Incision in the roof of

> the

> > mouth and then split the bone along it's length?

> >

> > 3. Will I have to have some sort of pallet expander glued to the

> roof

> > of my mouth for 6 months?

> >

> > 4. Do they typically wire the jaws shut for upper surgery?

> >

> > 5. What's all this talk about " bands " and " banding " ? What exactly

> are

> > these " bands " , what do they do, might I need them for upper

> surgery,

> > and and how long might I need to use them? I've been unable to

find

> > anything on the web about exactly this is/are/means.

> >

> > 6. " Splinting " ? what is this? Is it like the night bite guard I

> > currently use? Will I need one of these for upper surgery? Will I

> be

> > able to take it out to talk at work?

> >

> > 7. I have lots of others - but will start with these if anyone

is

> > willing to take a whack at them. The more details the better.

> > Information is goooood!

> >

> > Thanks much!!

> >

> > (Please also feel free to e-mail me directly also at

> > pilsner_porterstout@y...)

[Guest guest]

Thanks,

I'm going to Ortho #3 on monday and # 4 on 8/30. At that time I'll

start consults with surgons (which I have no doubt won't be

complimentary like the orthodontists are...) to see what they say.

God - I wish I dealt with this when I was 18 and not 44...sigh...

> I didn't have this, so maybe I should keep my yap shut. But I can

> answer some of it.

>

> 1. You can find detailed explanations of the cuts etc., in the

links

> and/or files here, and on site 2, some with pictures, if I'm

> remembering right.

>

> 2. Some folks have this done with the SARPE procedure, before even

> the braces are installed. This does involve surgery, and best I

> understand it, they usually do make some nicks along the top arch

to

> let it open up, and install an expander which you turn with a tiny

> key untill the gap is large enough. Then the ortho closes the gap

and

> works with the new room provided to give you a nice balance.

>

> In some other cases, I think, they segment the palate and expand it

> while they're doing the Le Fort procedure.

>

> For me, I had a narrow palate, with a v-shaped arch, but my ortho

was

> able to do enough correction with the brackets and archwires, plus

> judicious applications of elastics, to get what I needed. I was

> grateful to be spared the upper surgery, not that people don't do

it

> successfully every day. Lots of people.

>

> 4. That totally depends on your surgeon's preference, and on what

> happens in the OR. I don't think there's any such thing as

typical...

> Ask the surgeons you see how THEY do it. Mine told me he hadn't

wired

> anybody shut in a decade -- but I didn't ask him whether he

referred

> to all procedures or only to lowers. I think he meant all of them,

> though, except possibly accidental injuries.

>

> 5. Some surgeons use elastic bands (the same sort the ortho uses,

in

> varying sizes and configurations) rather than wiring, to stabilize

> and support the joints. I went home with neither, but did have a

> wired in splint in my upper brace. Some surgeons do this very

> tightly, so that you can't open any more than if you were wired.

Some

> do it loosely. And some, on occasion, do it not at all.

>

> 6. The splint -- at least mine -- was a plastic wafer about the

size

> of a half-dollar (remember the half-dollar?) that was wired into my

> upper brace for seven weeks. I could not remove it at all, and it

> felt lots bigger than it was. It was not pleasant, but it was not

> awful. I sounded like Thylvethter the Cat with it in, but was able

to

> make myself understood. My doc told me it was meant to keep my jaw

> from bouncing around all over the place.

>

> Have a look at Fiddlesticks' geocities site (look in the

links,

> here and on site 2) for FAQs you might want to ask your docs. You

> will also find some personal accounts of orthognathic surgeries for

> various procedures - I don't remember specifically whether there

are

> any that exactly match your circumstance, but I know that there

have

> been lots of folks on both sites who had those problems.

>

> Cammie

>

> >

> > 1. What and how exactly do they do a LeFort 1 osteotomy? Do they

> > actually saw your upper jaw off above the tooth roots from side

to

> > side?

> >

> > 2. How exactly do they widen the pallet? Incision in the roof of

> the

> > mouth and then split the bone along it's length?

> >

> > 3. Will I have to have some sort of pallet expander glued to the

> roof

> > of my mouth for 6 months?

> >

> > 4. Do they typically wire the jaws shut for upper surgery?

> >

> > 5. What's all this talk about " bands " and " banding " ? What exactly

> are

> > these " bands " , what do they do, might I need them for upper

> surgery,

> > and and how long might I need to use them? I've been unable to

find

> > anything on the web about exactly this is/are/means.

> >

> > 6. " Splinting " ? what is this? Is it like the night bite guard I

> > currently use? Will I need one of these for upper surgery? Will I

> be

> > able to take it out to talk at work?

> >

> > 7. I have lots of others - but will start with these if anyone

is

> > willing to take a whack at them. The more details the better.

> > Information is goooood!

> >

> > Thanks much!!

> >

> > (Please also feel free to e-mail me directly also at

> > pilsner_porterstout@y...)

[Guest guest]

Beerlover,

You say: God - I wish I dealt with this when I was 18 and not

44...sigh...

Well, maybe and maybe not. If you'd dealt with this at 18, you might

have had more growth in your late teens or 20s, and had the pleasure

(!) of doing it twice.

Don't fret about your age, if there are no other complications. I did

it at 56 (lower only, though) and almost 57. It went fine, and I

think i probably had one of the easiest recoveries on record.

My surgeon did charge for the initial consult (something over $100)

but I'm thinking that my insurance paid for some of it.

Cammie

> Thanks,

>

> I'm going to Ortho #3 on monday and # 4 on 8/30. At that time I'll

> start consults with surgons (which I have no doubt won't be

> complimentary like the orthodontists are...) to see what they say.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Beerlover,

You say: God - I wish I dealt with this when I was 18 and not

44...sigh...

Well, maybe and maybe not. If you'd dealt with this at 18, you might

have had more growth in your late teens or 20s, and had the pleasure

(!) of doing it twice.

Don't fret about your age, if there are no other complications. I did

it at 56 (lower only, though) and almost 57. It went fine, and I

think i probably had one of the easiest recoveries on record.

My surgeon did charge for the initial consult (something over $100)

but I'm thinking that my insurance paid for some of it.

Cammie

> Thanks,

>

> I'm going to Ortho #3 on monday and # 4 on 8/30. At that time I'll

> start consults with surgons (which I have no doubt won't be

> complimentary like the orthodontists are...) to see what they say.

>

>

>