I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks. I slept for 6 hours last night, could breathe through my nose, the anesthesia finally wore off, and I didn't need any pain killers. I feel incredibly blessed and am so glad my recovery hasn't been as bad as I was expecting. Yet. :-)
I had a follow up appointment at my surgeon's office this morning to take x-rays and clean out my nose. The x-rays looked amazing - my anatomy looks normal now, thanks to my surgeon's amazing handiwork and the help of some titanium plates and screws. Although I could breathe through my nose, it was still oozing and dripping blood and was filling up. It was uncomfortable and a little painful to get it cleaned out but I felt better afterward. My surgeon offered to clean my nose any time I like, and I might go in tomorrow as well. I also learned today that instead of a 3 piece LeFort, they did a 4 piece due to the amount of expansion that was needed .Here's a breakdown:
Upper molars were impacted 5 mm and expanded 2 mm
Premolars were impacted 5 mm and expanded 5 mm
Anterior segment (canine to canine) was brought forward 1mm and down 2 mm
I can't wait to see what it will all look and feel like when I'm fully healed.
My surgeon cleared me to take my elastic bands out to eat and brush my teeth. Yippee! When I take them out, my jaw naturally closes into the proper place in the splint, so I hope I can stop wearing them sooner than later
My swelling continues to increase despite ice, steroids, arnica pellets and cream, bromelain and quercetin. The swelling isn't as bad as I was expecting so that's good. Really, nothing has been as bad as I thought it would be.
My nose and mouth are still oozing blood. My surgeon assured me this is normal and will go away in a few days.
After lunch my husband and I picked up some Pho soup for lunch. I threw my portion in the blender: broth, noodles, cilantro and basil, and boy was it delicious. I'm so glad I won't have to live on Ensure and fruit juice for 3 monhts!
Feeling is already coming back in my face and lips. I'm surprised and not sure if I should be happy about this or not. On the one hand, I'm healing quickly and that's good. On the other hand, numbness for another month or 2 might be nice to mask any pain.
I will post before and after pics as soon as I get around to scanning them in and uploading them.
Congratulations! Welcome to the other side! It sounds like you are doing great and the surgeon(s) took really good care of you =) 4-piece Le Fort, WOW!!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to tell you before, but didn't want to give you too much to think about... but your fear of losing your sense of smell by damaging your VNO was unfounded. It lays dormant for the majority of the human population. It's main function is to detect pheromones, human scent markers, and things that would cause food poisoning. It is a controversial subject in the scientific world if it is even connected to the brain.
Even if it were removed, you would never notice. It is your olfactory that you need to worry about, and there is little chance of that being damaged through this procedure.
I didn't realize you were keeping a blog of your surgery - this is great. It sounds very intense. I know it will be a long three months but you sure seem to be doing well at this point.
ReplyDeleteHow long are you off from work for this? Once you back to work, will you be able to talk on the telephone? Just curious how all that's going to be.
I'm going to start mushing up a portion of everything I eat so I can make recommendations on food for you! :)
Oh, hey, I came across a book called "Dinner Through A Straw" specifically written for post-op maxillary trauma. You should check it out. http://www.dinnerthroughastraw.net/products.htm
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I wanted to mention was a board with some recipes. Blended mac & cheese actually sounds good to me. Especially if it's the Marie Calendar's brand they sell in the frozen food section of HEB. Someone on this forum also mentioned investing in a "Ninga" which is some sort of food-liquifying device. Here's the link to the posts: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/specex/msg0919274813496.html
Crazy Ninja blender: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Euro-Pro-Ninja-XL-Blender/15436117?findingMethod=rr
ReplyDeleteHoseajaw - thanks for the info. My fear of losing my sense of smell stemmed from another jaw surgery patient who lost some of her ability to smell. I still have my sense of smell and it's getting better as my nasal decongestant goes down. Whew!
ReplyDeleteDeb - I'm off work for 2.5 weeks. I'm actually thinking of going back part time sooner than that to delay my return to full time work. Everything I do takes so much time - just eating, taking meds and brushing my teeth ends up taking an hour and a half or more. I can talk now, but it can be hard to understand me because of the splint and copious amounts of drool that won't leave my mouth. That should improve over the next couple of weeks (at least I hope so).
Thanks for the recommendation on the blender. I have a Vitamix blender which has been a lifesaver so far. I've already pureed some Pho soup and a cheeseburger along with a bunch of smoothies. I plan to just keep eating the same things I ate before, they will just be pureed and look gross. Eventually I'll expand to soft things, but I have a splint in my mouth that is nearly impossible to clean, so I'm self-limiting to liquids for now. It's really not bad at all. I've already determined (sadly) that I will be the only jaw surgery patient ever to not lose any weight. Sigh! The upside is that I feel great and my healing is progressing quickly with more than enough food intake. :-)