Re: Poll: Who had jaw surgery purely for cosmetic reasons?

[Guest guest]

Hi poll responders/lurkers,

How did you find a surgeon willing to perform the MMA surgery for

cosmetic reasons rather than medical? The surgeon I've seen in the

Boston area has agreed that my long face, gummy smile, and sleep

apnea may all be related, but he says it's still not medically

necessary to undergo MMA surgery to correct these things.

I heard there is a surgeon out in Texas that performs MMA without

strong medical reasons, but I'm not willing to travel out of state

for such a procedure.

Thanks,

MTB

> I was wondering how many of you went through jaw surgery purely for

> cosmetic reasons and was it worth it? I'm thinking about the

> surgery but I don't have any pain, problems chewing or any other

> ailments that need to be corrected, I would be undergoing the

> surgery for cosmetic reasons only. Thanks in advance for your

> response.

[Guest guest]

I did not, and would not, quite frankly. And my surgery was not

difficult, nor complicated, and I had an easy recovery. But I am not

given to caring about such things -- and I mean that as no put down

of those who do.

One of the dentists I consulted pre-op was actually worried that the

surgery would worsen some minor tmj issues that had surfaced... and

that can indeed happen. You can also lose sensation in your face and

underlying tissues. If you blend those with the dangers of general

anesthesia -- well, for me that's enough to be discouraging.

BUT, that's not the end of the story. There are those who have

medical issues, or may be slated by their physiognomy to develop

greater ones. I'm not saying you should or should not go to the O.R.

I'm just saying that you should ask competent experts what you might

be in for in years down the road. Joints can deteriorate, for

example, and become arthritic, with repair very difficult.

For me, the surgery changed my disastrous bite (and I'd worn braces

as a child) from one that was destroying my teeth to one that gives

me better dental health.

I do not know of an insurance company that pays for cosmetic

surgery; there may be some. I do believe that there are well-

qualified surgeons who will agree to perform the surgery if you

guarantee (and maybe pre-pay) their fees and the hospital's.

You also might consider talking with a plastic surgeon, not that he

(or she) knows any less or more, but just that he may have a

different focus.

C.

> > I was wondering how many of you went through jaw surgery purely

for

> > cosmetic reasons and was it worth it? I'm thinking about the

> > surgery but I don't have any pain, problems chewing or any other

> > ailments that need to be corrected, I would be undergoing the

> > surgery for cosmetic reasons only. Thanks in advance for your

> > response.

[Guest guest]

I think you're right on target, Irene.

This is, as far as I know, always ELECTIVE surgery. You're not gonna

die if you don't do it, and you can die if you do and something

horrendous goes wrong (sorry if that's frightening, but any

procedure that requires general anesthesia and 'turning your

breathing over to someone else' can go amiss. I don't know of ANYONE

to whom that has happened, except one young woman I read about in a

newspaper story.)

And I would add that if you're in the Boston area, there should be a

number of capable orthos and surgeons who could give you some more

learned opinions than can I about what to expect!

C.

>

> Hi,

>

> I find it a little weird that your surgeon would refuse to operate

> because your reasons are purely cosmetic. First of all, we all

know

> that eventually bad bites will give you problems - it's just a

matter

> of when. I had my surgery partly for cosmetic reasons and partly

for

> medical. The thing with me is that while I was having symptoms,

they

> were not life - altering - I had no problems chewing, and my TMJ

> symptoms, while quite annoying and sometimes painful, were still

> manageable. However, I was concerned about what would happen down

the

> line - I knew my teeth were slowly deteriorating, who knows how

bad it

> would get when I'm 45 or so. In my case, my surgeon said I could

just

> have had lower, and upper was cosmetic and up to me. In my

opinion,

> since I was already doing it, I might as well go for something that

> would give me the optimal result both cosmetically and

functionally.

> My surgeon agreed. I would advise speaking to another surgeon -

they

> have to realize that aesthetics is part of the job and reasoning

why

> people go for these surgeries.

>

> Irene.