Re: bone graft and advancement?

[Guest guest]

Welcome!

Is it at all possible to start working on the " snot-sucking " problem

now? (sorry, I couldn't help it... you made me giggle ;-) If you can

break the habit before surgery, you might at the very least diminish

your anxiety about it...

I think it's great that they can do all of this at once! As you will

find out, sometimes we have to go through a second surgery for various

reasons - and we all come out of it just as well, if not better, than

the first go-round! However, that being said, the body - and the

palate - are an amazing thing! Yes, there are major blood vessels

that may be disrupted, but collateral vessels can pop up rapidly to

make up for what might be lost.

Good luck, and can't wait to hear more as you go through this amazing

(and I'm sure emotional) journey!

Kate

> Hi! I'm new to this group - but I have a surgery date planned for

> June 9th in NYC with Dr. Court Cutting. I'm 27 yrs old and was born

> with a unilateral cleft lip and palate. Unfortunately I did not

> receive a bone graft earlier - and the soft tissue repair of my palate

> began to open up a few years ago. Now I have an oral-nasal fistula -

> which was my original concern for going to the doctor since food gets

> trapped up there and causes infection. Imagine my surprise when I

> went into the office for the first time and he concentrated on my

> maxillary deficiency! Now I'm scheduled to have three procedures done

> at the same time. First a segmental advancement - to help close the

> bone deficiency created by the cleft palate. Then a LeFortI of my

> upper jaw - only 5-8mm - which they say shouldn't be that bad. Then a

> bone graft to fill in the gap. The only concern is that with all the

> other procedures, the bone graft may not have a good enough blood

> supply to survive - so I may have to have another one. Has anyone

> been through a similar situation?

>

> He also told me that for healing of the bone graft I shouldn't use a

> straw or change the pressure between my mouth and nose (for fear that

> I would create a new whole in the graft). What I realize now is that

> I'm constantly " sucking " through the fistula to get rid of food or

> snot (sorry it's gross) because I dislike when it gets stuffed up. Is

> it possible that I will do this after surgery without thinking? Could

> this ruin the bone graft? And will it constantly feel like something

> is just " stuffed " in there? I'm also afraid that I've begun to use

> the fistula as an alternative breathing source. My left nostril has a

> lot of scar tissue and only work about 10%. I typically breathe

> through my mouth and subsequently the fistula. Am I going to feel

> like I'm not getting enough air?

>

> He also plans to take the bone graft from my hip - but he is able to

> use a " long needle " techique which is supposed to be less invasive and

> speed healing. I heard the old way was usually the most painful part

> of recovery. Does anyone have any experience?

>

> I would be most appreciative of any support or personal stories to

> help ease my mind. Even though I've had numerous surgeries before -

> as this one approaches my anxiety level has begun to soar. They also

> removed a tooth near the cleft area - so I'm currently walking around

> the city toothless - not very Sara . I just can't wait

> for it to be over. *sigh*

>

> Thanks in advance!

[Guest guest]

Hello!

I am also based in NYC and am scheduled for surgery on June 7th with

Dr. Sachs so I'll be just a couple of days ahead of you. My

surgery is a lot simpler than yours - upper le forte, 3 piece,

removal of two wisdom teeth plus two bicuspids, potential lower jaw

depending on whether my jaw swings up into the right position and

genio. I'm really looking forward to getting all of this done and

over with but I can only imagine that you are looking forward to

resolving the problems with your oral-nasal fistula even more. It

sounds painful:-(

Unfortunately I can't answer any of your questions regarding the bone

grafting but I can offer you my support, like all the members of this

group. This site has been a great source of comfort for me in

preparing for the surgery and getting over my worst fears! Welcome on

board and keep us posted on your progress.

Sara

> Hi! I'm new to this group - but I have a surgery date planned for

> June 9th in NYC with Dr. Court Cutting. I'm 27 yrs old and was born

> with a unilateral cleft lip and palate. Unfortunately I did not

> receive a bone graft earlier - and the soft tissue repair of my

palate

> began to open up a few years ago. Now I have an oral-nasal

fistula -

> which was my original concern for going to the doctor since food

gets

> trapped up there and causes infection. Imagine my surprise when I

> went into the office for the first time and he concentrated on my

> maxillary deficiency! Now I'm scheduled to have three procedures

done

> at the same time. First a segmental advancement - to help close the

> bone deficiency created by the cleft palate. Then a LeFortI of my

> upper jaw - only 5-8mm - which they say shouldn't be that bad.

Then a

> bone graft to fill in the gap. The only concern is that with all

the

> other procedures, the bone graft may not have a good enough blood

> supply to survive - so I may have to have another one. Has anyone

> been through a similar situation?

>

> He also told me that for healing of the bone graft I shouldn't use a

> straw or change the pressure between my mouth and nose (for fear

that

> I would create a new whole in the graft). What I realize now is

that

> I'm constantly " sucking " through the fistula to get rid of food or

> snot (sorry it's gross) because I dislike when it gets stuffed up.

Is

> it possible that I will do this after surgery without thinking?

Could

> this ruin the bone graft? And will it constantly feel like

something

> is just " stuffed " in there? I'm also afraid that I've begun to use

> the fistula as an alternative breathing source. My left nostril

has a

> lot of scar tissue and only work about 10%. I typically breathe

> through my mouth and subsequently the fistula. Am I going to feel

> like I'm not getting enough air?

>

> He also plans to take the bone graft from my hip - but he is able to

> use a " long needle " techique which is supposed to be less invasive

and

> speed healing. I heard the old way was usually the most painful

part

> of recovery. Does anyone have any experience?

>

> I would be most appreciative of any support or personal stories to

> help ease my mind. Even though I've had numerous surgeries before -

> as this one approaches my anxiety level has begun to soar. They

also

> removed a tooth near the cleft area - so I'm currently walking

around

> the city toothless - not very Sara . I just can't

wait

> for it to be over. *sigh*

>

> Thanks in advance!