My derailed jaw surgery train has started to find it's way back on the tracks again...... but mostly because it has to. I have my first appointment today with the surgeon, and I want to walk out of there making a decision if I am going to go through with this or not. After countless hours of research over the last 3-4 months, reading so many blogs, talking to patients in person, and trying to look up every ounce of info I can, I feel like I should be able to walk out of this guys office with a decision. Then I can walk right over to my orthodontists office and make an appointment to start my treatment: invisalign if I am not going with surgery, and traditional braces if I am going surgery. So, by the end of the month I should have one or the other in my mouth. Scary, yet exciting.
I've compiled a list of questions to ask the surgeon. Some of these I kind of already know the answer to from all my research, but I want to hear everything from him:
On a totally different note-- my knee has finally felt like there is some improvement. I'm about 5 weeks post injury, so I was hoping for some kind of sign soon. Hopefully this means I can worry less about knee surgery stuff and concentrate more on my jaw and orthodontist stuff. :)
I've compiled a list of questions to ask the surgeon. Some of these I kind of already know the answer to from all my research, but I want to hear everything from him:
- What type of surgery do I need? (BSSO, Lefort 1/2, etc)
- Orthodontist says I might be able to get away with upper jaw only—what are your thoughts?
- How much movement and what kind?
- What are the chances of permanent numbness? If high, is it typically debilitating?
- Does age and amount of jaw moved increase risk of numbness?
- How long does surgery take?
- How long in hospital?
- Will this fix clenching and related headaches?
- Will this fix my lip incompetence?
- Where do you do surgery? Is this the only place you do this surgery? How often? Do you work with the same team day in and day out?
- How long of a hospital stay?
- Will the plates/screws effect any of my activities?
- Will I need a splint?
- What reasons medically will I benefit from this procedure? Will I have TMJ down the road? Arthritic jaw joints?
- Will this help my breathing when I sleep? I’m an open mouth sleeper/snoorer.
On a totally different note-- my knee has finally felt like there is some improvement. I'm about 5 weeks post injury, so I was hoping for some kind of sign soon. Hopefully this means I can worry less about knee surgery stuff and concentrate more on my jaw and orthodontist stuff. :)
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