Re: LeFort I Osteotomy, what is recovery period like?

[Guest guest]

I had a LeFort plus genioplasty on Dec. 27, so a little less than 3

weeks. I had a difficult recovery intially -- 3 nights in the

hospital, including 2 in intensive care -- due to an unexpected

amount of bleeding (they replaced 3 pints during surgery, then I had

another transfusion whien I was in ICU; to give you some comparison,

i had donated a pint of my own blood about a month before surgery,

as my surgeon said in almost all cases, a pint would be sufficient)

and an unprecedented level of bruising (I'm still quite black and

blue and fairly swollen nearly 3 weeks on).

I should say that I'm obviously a hightly unusual case -- my surgeon

said that I was among the worst bleeders/bruisers he'd seen in 20+

years, so I hope that my experience doesn't scare you. I was

initially wired shut with a breathing tube for the first couple of

days, but they switched to rubber bands sometime on day 2. My

breathing (and thus sleeping) was difficult for about a week after I

got home, due to a lot of blood and stuffy sinuses, but I got

through it okay (thanks to some good advice from folks on this

board!). I will be seeing a hematologist (a blood specialist) in the

next few months to see if there is an underlying disorder to explain

the bleeding/bruising that wasn't evident during the course of all

the standard blood tests that my doctor ran in the weeks leading up

to the surgery.

The pain isn't too bad, though I find that as I regain feeling

around my jaw/lips (and I'm regaining all of that pretty quickly,

according to my surgeon) I'm actually feeling somewhat more pain now

than I was intially. So at first I was mainly taking liquid Advil,

but now I'm taking the occasional Vicodin (mostly so that I can

sleep). I'm talking almost normally (and probably talking entirely

too much, knowing me!), and so only really relied on writing notes

for the time I was in the hospital and the first couple of days home.

Hope this doesn't scare anyone away -- I should say that even with

all the bleeding and bruising, I'm delighted with the surgery and

have absolutely no regrets.

Sara

>

> For those of you who had LeFort I Osteotomy can you share what was

> receovery period like? I understand it varies by person but any

> information will be helpful.

>

> Did you have to stay in hospital overnight or was it come and go

> procedure.

>

> Any other info will be helpful.

>

> For referrence I am 27 old male who just underwent SARPE last

Friday.

> It was relativelly painless, Hour and half surgery and 2-3 hours

> recovery in hospital bed and I was back on my feet. I did not feel

> much pain at all. I wa taking Oxycodone for 5 days after surgery

> maybe that reduced the pain, I do not know. My LeFort I osteotomy

is

> one year away.