Re: My OMS Consult ////// I'M SO TERRIFIED!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

I left you an email. If you want to chat I am here most of the time, online. I'm

on

yahoo messenger, too. I find it faster than emails. Mind you, snail mail is

still

slooooowwwwwweerrrr.

Mia

[Guest guest]

Hi Diane,

I am so sorry you are feeling overwhelmed about this! It is

difficult to face this when it was known ahead of time that it would

be this way (as was my situation), but to have it thrown at you

without hearing it ahead of time would be very unsettling. I am

hoping that as you think about it, you will take some comfort in

knowing you have lots of time to settle in with the idea and make

your decision about what you want to do. Perhaps call your OD

tomorrow and ask to have them call you about the discrepancy.

Perhaps there is a lesser way to go, and a more complete

realignment, and there might be some leeway into making a decision

between the two outcomes. I don't know.

I do feel for you on this. If you call your OD, please let us know

what you find out on this. I am sending you good thoughts about

this.

Hugs,

Fran

> Hello there - My OMS Consult was this morning. Turns out that my

OD

> and my OMS aren't on the same page concerning my surgery. My OD

told

> me on the phone last Thursday that he and my OMS had gotten

together

> to discuss my case and both agreed that all I needed was a BSSO.

> Well, I wish that was the truth, but it's not. My OMS told me

today

> that I will also need a LeFort to advance my maxilla 4 mm to bring

> my midface forward, and to bring my maxilla down because my

resting

> smile shows none of my upper teeth. Needless to say, I AM

TERRIFIED

> & HORRIFIED & SCARED TO DEATH!!!!!!! He also says the BSSO will

set

> back my mandible 4 mm. He told me ALL the (gruesome) details about

> both procedures, much to my HORROR. He told me about lots of

things,

> including the fact that he won't be wiring me shut (just using a

> splint and bands). I don't remember half of the conversation

because

> I could only visualize the word " LeFort " in flashing neon as I

> looked into my OMS's eyes! I returned to work totally numb and

found

> myself several times throughout the day struggling to hold back

the

> tears. Now I'm on my way home - when I get there it'll be time to

> let the tears flow. I'm so scared of the LeFort because it is SO

> radical. I hope I can " get a grip " soon - I go back to him on

August

> 3rd. Sorry this post is such a downer - I was hoping to give you

all

> a great report - Sorry!! ///// Signed, One Terrified Boisean

(Diane)

[Guest guest]

Diane, Hang in there. Take a deep breath. Then research and ask

questions. The Lefort is probably no worse than the BSSO. When I

originally went for my OS consult they thought with braces, I might

only have to have the BSSO ( & turbinectomies, genio). So I was

disappointed when I heard I'd have to have the LeFort, too. But

because in my case enlarging the airway was the priority, next

making my teeth fit together, I still needed the LeFort, too.

Here was what I began with (2 yrs ago when orthodontics started):

Class II Skeletal Upper jaw too far forward to support lower jaw

1 mm of gingival display

Mandibular midline 2mm right of midline (was 5 mm before surgery)

TMD signs & symptoms: Slight crepitus (joint noise). Lt. jt

3 mm overjet

4 mm overbite

5 mm of crowding upper teeth

5 mm of crowding lower teeth

Remember, too, that after orthdontics has begun, the movement of the

teeth may change and alter the pre-orthodontic analyis.

Any surgery should not be undertaken without knowing all the pros

and cons. Interestingly, my OD said that they are now finding that

most women with sleep apnea (not overweight) have it as a result of

narrowed airway due to a retrognathic mandible. The OD now

encourages the parents of young women ( & men) with the condition to

consider surgery to prevent sleep apnea as adults. Sleep apnea

increases a persons risk of stroke, hypetension & heart attacks.

Consider why you are having the surgery? Is it cosmetic or

functional reasons? For me the functional reasons outweighed any

cosmetic benefits. Never being able to get a good nights sleep with

the apnea decreased my " quality of life " . Though the surgery was

hard on me, I am now beginning to see the benefits. The last two

nights I actually got a 4 hours of " good sleep " . I'm sure that will

change even more with time. For the first time I am able to breath

through my nose at night.

Did I undertake this surgery lightly? No, I researched and read

every article I could find on sleep apnea & orthognathic surgery and

what the cure rates would be with this surgery. Since 95% of the

cases of sleep apnea (caused by my condition) are totally cured with

this surgery, then I agreed that the benefits probably outweighed

the risks.

Only you can make the final decision if your benefits will be worth

the risks and challenges of the surgery.

Right now you just need time to assimilate all the information.

Hugs, we're thinking of you

Shirley

-- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , " dmd13cyto "

<dmd13cyto@y...> wrote:

> Hello there - My OMS Consult was this morning. Turns out that my

OD

> and my OMS aren't on the same page concerning my surgery. My OD

told

> me on the phone last Thursday that he and my OMS had gotten

together

> to discuss my case and both agreed that all I needed was a BSSO.

> Well, I wish that was the truth, but it's not. My OMS told me

today

> that I will also need a LeFort to advance my maxilla 4 mm to bring

> my midface forward, and to bring my maxilla down because my

resting

> smile shows none of my upper teeth. Needless to say, I AM

TERRIFIED

> & HORRIFIED & SCARED TO DEATH!!!!!!! He also says the BSSO will

set

> back my mandible 4 mm. He told me ALL the (gruesome) details about

> both procedures, much to my HORROR. He told me about lots of

things,

> including the fact that he won't be wiring me shut (just using a

> splint and bands). I don't remember half of the conversation

because

> I could only visualize the word " LeFort " in flashing neon as I

> looked into my OMS's eyes! I returned to work totally numb and

found

> myself several times throughout the day struggling to hold back

the

> tears. Now I'm on my way home - when I get there it'll be time to

> let the tears flow. I'm so scared of the LeFort because it is SO

> radical. I hope I can " get a grip " soon - I go back to him on

August

> 3rd. Sorry this post is such a downer - I was hoping to give you

all

> a great report - Sorry!! ///// Signed, One Terrified Boisean

(Diane)

[Guest guest]

Shirley - Thank you SO much for your reply to my downer of a post. I

am trying to get a grip of the situation. The whole LeFort thing came

out of left field - I was only expecting Dr. to tell me that I

would need a BSSO. I was thinking today at work that maybe part of

the problem is a " control " thing. I have had exclusive and sole

control over the presence of my underbite for the last 35 to 40 years

and now I must relinquish control to my wonderful Surgeon, Dr.

, so that he can surgically alter my jaws and put an end to the

problem. LOL!! Oh, maybe I'm just trying too hard and thinking too

hard about everything. He told me that I have a few months to decide,

but he will do everything in his power to convince me to let him

perform both the BSSO and the LeFort on me. I do believe that he

truly cares about me and he told me that he won't let anything

happen to me. He also told me that he hasn't had any complications -

never cut a nerve, never had to use the two pints of autologous blood

he requires to be donated, never had a case of post-surgical

parathesia (numbness) become permanent. He says he's done hundreds of

these surgeries in his thirteen-year career; he now averages ten a

year, but when he first moved to Boise he was doing twenty a year

(blames lack of insurance coverage with the decline). He did commend

me for the great deal of research and reading that I've done on the

surgeries - he says he's never had a patient as well prepared as I am

and he is looking forward to next summer so he can get my surgery

done. He told me NOT to worry about anything and if I needed to talk

to him all I needed to do was call him and he'd get me into his

office. I think I'd like to have him explain how he decided that I

need the LeFort and to show me the midface deficiency on my

cephalometric xray. Maybe if he can show me how he came to the

conclusion he did and where the 4 mm value for the maxillary

advancement and the 4 mm value for the mandibular set-back came from,

maybe I would be more willing to let him do the LeFort. Do you think

I should ask him to show me that? I don't want to have it sound like

I don't trust him, because I really DO trust him and don't want to

hurt his feelings. He's a very nice person and I feel completely at

ease with him. What do you think I should do? Thank you again for

your continued support and help. ~~~~ Diane

> > Hello there - My OMS Consult was this morning. Turns out that my

> OD

> > and my OMS aren't on the same page concerning my surgery. My OD

> told

> > me on the phone last Thursday that he and my OMS had gotten

> together

> > to discuss my case and both agreed that all I needed was a BSSO.

> > Well, I wish that was the truth, but it's not. My OMS told me

> today

> > that I will also need a LeFort to advance my maxilla 4 mm to

bring

> > my midface forward, and to bring my maxilla down because my

> resting

> > smile shows none of my upper teeth. Needless to say, I AM

> TERRIFIED

> > & HORRIFIED & SCARED TO DEATH!!!!!!! He also says the BSSO will

> set

> > back my mandible 4 mm. He told me ALL the (gruesome) details

about

> > both procedures, much to my HORROR. He told me about lots of

> things,

> > including the fact that he won't be wiring me shut (just using a

> > splint and bands). I don't remember half of the conversation

> because

> > I could only visualize the word " LeFort " in flashing neon as I

> > looked into my OMS's eyes! I returned to work totally numb and

> found

> > myself several times throughout the day struggling to hold back

> the

> > tears. Now I'm on my way home - when I get there it'll be time to

> > let the tears flow. I'm so scared of the LeFort because it is SO

> > radical. I hope I can " get a grip " soon - I go back to him on

> August

> > 3rd. Sorry this post is such a downer - I was hoping to give you

> all

> > a great report - Sorry!! ///// Signed, One Terrified Boisean

> (Diane)