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!

Well... more like a wallop..... to my bank account, but don't even get me started. I was just going through charges from this week and I am already out $3,300 of the $5,200 of FSA I have set aside for this year.  It's only Jan 15th.  Ugh.  $2,800 is just for the crown on my implant.  Hoping insurance pays a little of that, but who knows.  Then the other $500 is for the anesthesia when my surgeon knocks me out to take the plates and screws out from around my nose in a few weeks (just scheduled that for Feb 7th). I am not even getting the option of going brave and cheap staying awake on that one.  Dr. Karas said he'd rather me out all the way for this since he's going to do a lot of stretching and tugging to get to these screws all the way up under my eyes.  ::shudder:: I ssssooo do not want to think about that right now.  But, I really am looking forward to not feeling these giant screws sticking out of the thin skin under my eyes.  Gives me the heeby jeebies every time I touch it, and some days its a little tender.  Ready to be done with that for sure.

It may sound like a lot of whining when it comes to what I've already spent in the first two weeks of 2017, but don't feel that bad for me.  I'm really not whining so much as I am venting, and venting here so that others going through similar things know they're not alone.  It's pretty well known that dental insurance doesn't cover enough, and that leaves many frustrated even for the most normal of routine work.  But, I am always thankful that I am in a position where I can pay for it.  I didn't used to be so lucky not many years ago, and there are many who are not that lucky now.  Our system definitely could use some change.  Anywho.....Yes, the costs to fix things that could be attributed to the carnage from my first round of treatment is irritating, most of these 2017 expenses so far are not because of my first round of treatment.  Both are expenses I was expecting, and they are TOTALLY worth it.  I am not seeing the cheapest doctors in the Bay Area, and that is a choice I made and do not regret for even a second.  Why?  Well, if you've read about what these guys have done for me, then you easily know why.  I'm getting the best of the best.  They are super experienced, knowledgeable, honest, skilled, have  more than earned my loyalty as a patient no matter what they tell me it costs, and I am getting what I pay for as far as I am concerned.  So, this one is easy to get over.  The stuff that won't be easy to get over is the rest of the years expenses.  $8-10,000 worth of restorations on teeth that are probably just going to need $20K+ worth of implants in the next 5-8 years.  That is work that (more than likely) is attributed to my first team of docs and the cowboy moves and mistakes there.  We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess!

Anywho... I am scheduled to get the upper plates and screws out around my nose Feb 7th.  Not the set above my upper molars.  Those don't bug me luckily.  Neither do the lowers for the most part.  The week before that I get the crown on my implant, which has healed nicely in to the bone and my prosth and surgeon are happy with it.  Speaking of my prosth, he tells me the other day he's read in to my website here a little bit (Hi, Dr. Lew ;) ).  I gave all of my docs my website at one time or another.  I never really thought any of them would do much more than glance at it and maybe not even that.  I  mean, it's more than OK if they want to, but I would never expect them to take what is their precious time to look at it, nor would I be put off if they didn't look at it.  Regardless, as people know who have kept up with this story from day 1, I've got it all out there for anybody to see (including my docs) in all its rawness and honesty.  But, there are a few concerns with it when I know my docs are reading-- 1.) Have I done the medical side of this justice?  Have I correctly transcribed everything they've told me and everything that has happened to me?  and 2.) Does knowing that your work is being publicly showcased make them nervous?  Not that they should have any reason to be since they do above and beyond fantastic work, but I think it's human to feel nervous in a spotlight of any sorts, even if you're the best at what you do.  Hopefully I am not doing that to them.  And if there is a little of that, then hopefully they understand the impact this website has, especially for other patients doing jaw surgery research or other revision patients looking for information and/or to just feel not alone in a crappy situation.  And for me too.  This has been a great outlet for me obviously.

I'm almost a year post op.  Kind of crazy.  By actual days (I've kept track of my monthly progress on my google calendar) the year post op mark is next week, but by calendar date, it's not until Feb 18th.  I'll probably wait to do a blog post for that on Feb 18th, maybe with a Vlog to show where things are coming along and how healing looks at the year mark.  I might do that BEFORE I get the plates and screws out though, since doing it in the week or two after I might have some lingering puffiness still from the plate removal and it won't be a good indication of where I am at a year post op from jaw surgery itself.  In general though things are still going OK, but I'll wait to fill in more specifics on the year post op post.  So, I guess stay tuned for that post soon in the next week or two before plate removal!