Dammit's final post

[Guest guest]

Hello to all my friends and June 2004 Surgery Pals!

It's been over a year since my I had my lower jaw moved forward

12mm. A brief recap for those of you who are new to the board: I

went in on June 22, 2004 to have my lower advanced. When I was moved

from the recovery room to my overnight room, the aide 'dropped' me

and I hit my newly reconstructed jaw. The result was 3 of the 4

screws my OS had installed were jarred loose, and I had to have the

surgery redone a week later, this time with 6 new screws. Six

months post surgery two screws came loose, and I ended up going in

to my OS's office to have those removed under a light sleep. Woke

up, no pain, no problems. It's amazing how long those screws

actually are in your hand!

Fast forward 13 months. I've been wearing bands since one week

following the second surgery. The size, thickness, and configuration

of the bands has changed, but in one week it will all be over as I'm

having my braces removed on July 28th! I'll have been in braces a

total of 28 month, 13 days.

As a result of the surgery I now sleep much more peacefully. My

sleep apnea has been completely eliminated. I no longer clench my

jaws at night, which means I wake up without a headache for the

first time in memory. As my bite is coming together, I'm able to

chew almost anything I want and the braces allow. My bride also

sleeps better because the surgery eliminated my snoring. My bite has

progressed to the point where I no longer cut the roof of my mouth

with my lower teeth, and soon it will be finished and look great!

My midline seemed off at 3 months and six months post surgery, but

it is now nearly dead on. I've regained sensation on most of my chin

and lower lip. Right now I can feel some sensation on all areas, but

there is a quarter size spot that just feels tingly if I run my

finger across it. If I don't touch it, I can't tell any difference.

Most times I don't notice it unless it is touched.

As for cost of the whole shebang, well I paid around $4K for the

braces and $100 in co pays to the OS. Add another $50 for each of

the three 'outpatient' surgeries, and I'm out of pocket $4,350 or so

for the whole deal. Kaiser paid for both my surgeries, and the

hospital, OS, and Anesthesia ran $20K each time, of which Kaiser

paid around $14K each time. They also paid for the screw removal,

which I think was around $500.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! Was the 'liquid' diet bad? No. Was

the emotional aspect bad? Actually it was worse for my bride

watching me than it was for me.

I posted a few posts worth reviewing if you're just getting into

this:

81392 – How I felt 3 months post surgery

78734 - Top 10 no chew diet suggestions – with apologies to

Letterman

I hope this finds all my friends and June 2004 Pals doing well,

eating their favorite foods, and free of braces once and for all.

Dammit