Going to try to keep the text short since I am doing a Vlog update for this one. I'm calling this 1 year post op since my 1 year in Feb is going to happen right after I get some plates/screws removed from my upper jaw and I don't want pictures/video of any of the associated swelling from that to cloud a true 1 year post op view and where things have settled. I always say it's crazy to be in a position to be in good shape now XX months post op (or as good as it can be given the circumstances), and that is still true today. So for other revision patients reading this (or just jaw patients in general) keep chuggin. The process is long and many times not easy, but hopefully there are better days ahead when it's all said and done.
As always, have to give major thanks to my team of talented docs again. I feel like at this point I should get a frequent flier card to my surgeons office, but I love that he is still involved in my treatment in multiple aspects. And I appreciate them still entertaining my curiosities and questions just like they have from day 1.....which was 2.5 years ago now. Nuts!. Just the other day I emailed my surgeon to ask about a suture he used on my nasal base to close me up for revision and if he'd have to redo that during my plate removal surgery, and he got right back to me and seemed un-annoyed by yet another nagging question from me. lol Same with my prosthodontist last week, who I emailed as part of our continued hashing out of plans for my doomed front teeth. I know everybody is probably sick of hearing me gush thanks for what these guys have done for me, but after what I went through in my first round of treatment and the extremely bad place that left me in.... it's just tough to not feel this way towards people who really saved my ass in that respect. And saved it better than I could have ever realistically hoped for, let alone asked for.
Speaking of saving my ass... that means things must still be going well 1 year post op. They are! :) I'll dive more in to the nitty gritty on that in the video, but in general my bite is still solid, still have the lingering strip of tingles/numbness left over from my first surgery (with ZERO additional numbness from revision, which is amazing!), my opening is back to normal (with a little stiffness some days still), and I'd say my swelling is gone (probably 90-something percent gone). Now that most of my swelling is gone I can see that I am left with the slight asymmetry on my left side, which was an item very well advertised to me from the very first consult with my surgeon. BUT, looking back on pictures even before treatment, I can see I always had a more round and prominent gonial angle on my left side. The disastrous first surgery results just enhanced it even more, and my surgeon was very honest with me from day 1 that after healing of the bones offset and bowed out on that side from the first surgery, it might be a little off still after revision and would require a third surgery down the road to go in and contour the bone on that side. I am NOT at all going to entertain the idea of having more surgery for something so superficial. It's something I notice and probably my husband may notice, but overall not a damaging issue and causes me no functional problems. Will include a picture below to illustrate what I'm talking about, but you'll see it's not the end of the world at all-- just a little sunken in on my right side and a little prominent on my left. Not a huge deal. My nose has finally settled out and yes, it's wider, but I'm getting used to that finally I think. My septum is deviated from the first surgery still, but again, I am not really tripping all over myself to have more surgery any time soon and will leave it for now. My hair loss from surgery has finally turned back around and it's not falling out like crazy anymore, and I'm finally growing out my pixie cut and hopefully have my thicker hair back for the first time in 4 years. Only complaint I have functionally is that I almost feel like my tongue doesn't have room in my mouth despite my lower jaw being moved forward. I think this has to do with the fact that we extracted the lower incisor and shortened and pulled in my lower arch. Hopefully I can someday get used to that, but for now I am having trouble feeling completely comfortable there without any tongue thrust. That is something I probably had a problem with due to the open/overbite, but I am almost positive some of it is due to the lack of space on my lower arch right now too. It's also doesn't help that my muscles still don't feel completely natural in this bite yet. I still have some days with bad clenching and tightness, although overall it's still a HUGE improvement over what I had before surgery.
Anyway, I am already starting to go over too much that will also be mentioned in the Vlog. If I miss anything or anybody has any questions, feel free to shoot me a message or comment below!
As always, have to give major thanks to my team of talented docs again. I feel like at this point I should get a frequent flier card to my surgeons office, but I love that he is still involved in my treatment in multiple aspects. And I appreciate them still entertaining my curiosities and questions just like they have from day 1.....which was 2.5 years ago now. Nuts!. Just the other day I emailed my surgeon to ask about a suture he used on my nasal base to close me up for revision and if he'd have to redo that during my plate removal surgery, and he got right back to me and seemed un-annoyed by yet another nagging question from me. lol Same with my prosthodontist last week, who I emailed as part of our continued hashing out of plans for my doomed front teeth. I know everybody is probably sick of hearing me gush thanks for what these guys have done for me, but after what I went through in my first round of treatment and the extremely bad place that left me in.... it's just tough to not feel this way towards people who really saved my ass in that respect. And saved it better than I could have ever realistically hoped for, let alone asked for.
Speaking of saving my ass... that means things must still be going well 1 year post op. They are! :) I'll dive more in to the nitty gritty on that in the video, but in general my bite is still solid, still have the lingering strip of tingles/numbness left over from my first surgery (with ZERO additional numbness from revision, which is amazing!), my opening is back to normal (with a little stiffness some days still), and I'd say my swelling is gone (probably 90-something percent gone). Now that most of my swelling is gone I can see that I am left with the slight asymmetry on my left side, which was an item very well advertised to me from the very first consult with my surgeon. BUT, looking back on pictures even before treatment, I can see I always had a more round and prominent gonial angle on my left side. The disastrous first surgery results just enhanced it even more, and my surgeon was very honest with me from day 1 that after healing of the bones offset and bowed out on that side from the first surgery, it might be a little off still after revision and would require a third surgery down the road to go in and contour the bone on that side. I am NOT at all going to entertain the idea of having more surgery for something so superficial. It's something I notice and probably my husband may notice, but overall not a damaging issue and causes me no functional problems. Will include a picture below to illustrate what I'm talking about, but you'll see it's not the end of the world at all-- just a little sunken in on my right side and a little prominent on my left. Not a huge deal. My nose has finally settled out and yes, it's wider, but I'm getting used to that finally I think. My septum is deviated from the first surgery still, but again, I am not really tripping all over myself to have more surgery any time soon and will leave it for now. My hair loss from surgery has finally turned back around and it's not falling out like crazy anymore, and I'm finally growing out my pixie cut and hopefully have my thicker hair back for the first time in 4 years. Only complaint I have functionally is that I almost feel like my tongue doesn't have room in my mouth despite my lower jaw being moved forward. I think this has to do with the fact that we extracted the lower incisor and shortened and pulled in my lower arch. Hopefully I can someday get used to that, but for now I am having trouble feeling completely comfortable there without any tongue thrust. That is something I probably had a problem with due to the open/overbite, but I am almost positive some of it is due to the lack of space on my lower arch right now too. It's also doesn't help that my muscles still don't feel completely natural in this bite yet. I still have some days with bad clenching and tightness, although overall it's still a HUGE improvement over what I had before surgery.
Anyway, I am already starting to go over too much that will also be mentioned in the Vlog. If I miss anything or anybody has any questions, feel free to shoot me a message or comment below!
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