Surgery Second time Round?

May 2, 2005

Hi guys,

I was looking for alternatives to surgery when I stumbled onto this

site. My story goes like this....

I am 40 years old and 25 years ago (when I was 15) I had extensive

orthognathic surgery. It took ten hours and I lost a lot of blood

and had to have a transfusion. The anaesthesic really knocked me bad

and made me very sick, but I don't remember much pain, except on my

hip where they took the bone to graft into my jaw. Surgery was a

few days before Christmas and I was allowed to go home. My parents

were horrified when they saw me because they didn't expect such a

frightening sight. I recovered and didn't have any problems, but

within a few years, my jaw reverted back to its original state. Even

though I had braces, my teeth today are very crooked and I can't

close my mouth. I have never been able to breathe through my nose.

eating is very difficult for me and my children often tell me that I

have food all over my mouth. I hate eating in public. My clothes are

often stained because I drop food down my front.

I just finished paying for my children's braces and one day I

imagined how nice it might be to have straight teeth myself. I

recently made an appointment to see an orthodontist and then a

surgeon who explained to me that I would need to have the full

surgery again (top and bottom). He gave me some pamphlets with

pictures of what they would need to do. I must say that it is

terrifying. I don't know if I could go through it again.

As a child I was relentlessly teased because of the way I looked (I

still cry about it today.) The thought of being able to fix the

problem is very tempting, but it is major surgery! I'm just going to

think about it over the next few months.

I think it's wonderful that you have this support group. I will be

reading your emails as I make my decision.

All the best to you all...you are very brave and courageous,

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