Re: - minirascal - to Judy

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy,

I'm sorry to hear you're having such a rough time. this recovery can

be such a long process especially with everything you've had done

and with everything else you have to deal with as well.

Yes, fluid in the ears is not uncommon after jaw surgery. First, the

upper jaw surgery can cause a lot of congestion which can block the

sinuses and the eustachian tubes (they drain and equalize the

pressure in your ears) which in turn can sometimes lead to sinus and

ear infections. When your eustachian tubes are blocked, fluid can

easily build up in your ears since there is nowhere for the fluid to

go. Second, jaw surgery can cause stress and inflammation in your

jaw joints (TMJ's). The TMJ's are right next to your inner ear so

any inflammation in the TMJ can cause inflammation and fluid build-

up in your inner ear as well. I've had decreased hearing and fluid

build-up after several of my jaw surgeries but it always went away

on its own. Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) may help

dry things out and open up your eustachian tubes more.

With the wires pulling and pushing on and around your teeth, it is

not unusual for them to get a little loose. I know it is very common

with braces anyway. My surgeon mentioned after this last surgery

that my upper incisors are very loose but he also said not to worry

about it. He told me it was normal with the braces and that they

would tighten up again once we were finished moving them around.

I would be concerned about your bite opening up though. Definitely

call your surgeon on Monday. Hopefully he can adjust the wires and

pull things together. It would be easier to do it now before your

bones are fully healed than to wait another week or two. Again, I

know with braces they can pull things together with bands or wires

but I don't know about you since you don't have braces.

My distractions were done internally. The distractors (or fixators)

to lengthen my lower jaw ran underneath my gumline and the screws

came out of my gums just under my canines. They were flexible so

they could be tucked away under my braces. My husband turned the

screws twice a day for almost three weeks for a total of 17 mm of

new bone growth. The distractors stayed in for another two months to

allow the bone to consolidate. Turning the screws was extremely

painful. I had to take some strong pain meds just before each turn

and iced for an hour afterwards to numb it up. I had a few minor

infections but they cleared up quickly with antibiotics.

The second distraction was similar but it was to build up the

condyles and reconstruct the TMJs that were congenitally small and

malformed and getting worse because of arthritis. The distractors

themselves were internal but the screws were external. They came out

along my jawline just in front of my ears and were about an inch

long. They ended up staying in a total of three months so I went

back to work with them still in. Most people didn't recognize what

they were for but a lot thought I had some funky piercings. My

sister wanted to paint them a funky color and glue on rhinestones.

Once when my husband and I were at the post office, a woman said to

us " I ain't never seen piercings like that before. " Instead of

trying to explain for the billionth time what they were, he just

replied " Yeah, you should see what else she has pierced! " That shut

her up in a hurry.

Here is a website that shows the distractors that were very similar

to the ones I had in case you're interested.

http://www.klsmartin.com/MOD-line/zurich_mand.htm

The first distraction was a great success and the new bone has held

up beautifully. In my most recent CT scan, you can't even see where

the new bone starts. The second distraction to rebuild the joints

only lasted about a year and then I started having a lot of bone

loss again. That's why I ended up having the total joint

replacements three weeks ago. This should be my last surgery for a

while since there is no more bone to deteriorate. The joints

typically last 5-15 years so I know they'll need to be replaced

sometime in the far distant future (I hope).

I hope Jordan's fixator can come off on Thursday and let us know how

the two of you are doing. I hope you feel better soon.

minirascal-

> Hi (minirascal),

> Sorry my reply is so late, but as you may have read in my other

> posts tonight, I've been trying to distract myself from all these

> post-surgery 'issues' I'm dealing with.

> My ears are not showing an improvement yet, I keep hoping

> that 'tomorrow' I'll wake up and not have all this ear pressure.

My

> sinuses do seem to be getting better though, so hopefully that

will

> continue to improve.

> You said you have had fluid in your ears since your joint

> replacements three weeks ago...did your doctor say this is normal?

I

> mean, is this common to get fluid buildup in the ears like this?

> As far as Jordan and the fixator on his leg, we have an

appointment

> with his orthopedic doctor on Thursday, and we're anticipating

that

> the doctor will say the fixator can come off now. Jordan's had a

lot

> of troubles with infections and nerve pinching/pain from the four

> pin sites in the femur. The good news though is that his leg is

> healing on schedule and as of his last set of X-rays in June, the

> bone consolidation in his femur was looking great. The doc said at

> that time, that if the bone continues to heal this well, he should

> be able to have it off after the next visit, which will be

Thursday.

> Jordan is counting down the days as you might imagine!

> You said you had the procedure done on your lower jaw - TWICE. I

> can't imagine how painful that must have been for you...yikes. I

> know how difficult has been for Jordan to go through all this. At

> only 15 years old, this has not only been physically painful, but

it

> seriously impacted his activities and social life. After the

fixator

> comes off, he will still have to wear a brace to support the new

> bone growth for 6-8 weeks, but at least he'll be able to move

> easier - and we won't have to deal with all these nasty infections

> and nerve pain. It will also be nice to not have to clean that

> fixator everyday like I've had to do since March.

> When you had this done for your jaw, was it done internally or

> externally?

> Thanks for your reply, and I hope you are getting better and

better

> everyday too :-)

> Take care,

> Judy