Hospital Stay

Hospital Stay

My overnight in the hospital was anything but restful. My feast of broth and apple juice earlier that night warranted frequent trips to the restroom. Normally this would be no big deal, but I was hooked into so much machinery. The IV drip had a pump that was plugged into the wall. Plus there was those weird leg massager things at the end of the bed. To get to the restroom I had to unplug the pump, disconnect the tubing for the massagers and make the trek across the room. Never had a 15 ft walk seemed so daunting. My loss of blood made me lightheaded when I stood.  The combo of meds left me barely lucid. 

I watched a tons of Comedy Central that night. Probably bagged 5 hrs of sleep. When morning broke I was visited by my surgeon. He took a quick glance at my stitches and declared me fit to return home. I couldn't think of anything I'd like better.

The doc also had some unfortunate news. The swelling post-op had created another gap in-between my teeth. He seemed concerned about this but seemed confident that the elastics that looped around my braces would train it closed as it heals. Here's hoping!

 

Post-Op

Post Op

After surgery I came too in my recovery room. The hospital was running a little empty so the administration stuck me in the pediatric ward.

 Honestly, the first thing I remember hearing was the anesthesiologist tell me that he was going to remove the catheter. Of course, not having the strength to protest, I felt a sensation in my abdomen that I don't wish to discuss. I think he was under the impression that sedation was still under effect.

From there, the nursing staff took over. They got me hooked into all sorts of hospital machinery. There was the IV, which was supplying me with nutrients and an anti-biotic. Ice packs around my jaw for the swelling. A blood pressure monitor that they came and checked every couple hours. Finally, this machine that they said was to prevent blood clots in post-op patients. It worked by intermittently pumping air into a piece of synthetic cloth wrapped around my calf muscles. I kind of wished I had one of these contraptions at home. It felt like getting a massage every time they turned on.

I'd lost 1 pt. of blood. Just standing was exhausting.

It's general practice for surgery patients not to eat before going in. So by the time I had come around, I was soooooooo hungry for anything. Unfortunately, being on a clear liquid diet restriction I wasn't able to have my post -op prime rib, so I settled for a few cups of broth and some apple juice.

The most obvious question to ask a post op patient is, "how much pain are you in". I'm not sure if it's because the pain meds from the O.R., or because my nervous system had not finished re-setting itself; but I was not hurting too much. I opted from some Ibuprofen and put the issue out of mind.

In this particular surgery the surgeon will cut through the nerves that supply feeling to the mid-portion of your face. I have little/no feeling in my upper jaw, nose, sinus, uvula, and inner ear. These will all return when the incisions heal but in the meantime, it feels like the effects of Novocaine after a dental visit.

My main concern, the inside of my mouth. It was huuuuge from swelling. It made navigating my tongue quite the challenge. The other thing was that my uvula was swollen. So much so, that I thought that it was a piece of flem  caught in my throat. I'd say 95% of my effort the first few hours out of the O.R. was waging war on my poor uvula and the flem draining with the little suction vacuum they'd given me.

Pre-OP

Pre-Op Morning

Feels odd to say this, but, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR SURGERY! Clear blue skies, 70 degrees, and no sign of that awful Midwest humidity that plagues this part of the world  in the summer. Yes; the birds are chirping, sunlight is filtering through the glass, ending its long journey on my face. I got a great feeling about what's in store for me today.

I'm at the hospital getting ready for everything to go down. I've been checked into a small staging room where they house pre-op patients. So far I've been given my op-gown, some socks, and a whole lot of paperwork. In a few minutes they'll roll me into a room to start getting me ready.

Talkin' to the Docs

*afterthought*  Not too long after that photo they wheeled me into the staging room where I met my anesthesiologist. He started me on an IV drip for some fluids. I'm not very privvy to needles. So naturally I wasn't jazzed about getting an IV. But my guy was nice enough to numb the injection site a bit before putting the really large needle in. I waited a bit before the team came and told me they were ready. The last few things I remember; being told I was being administered a seditive, how cold the O.R. was, and having a oxygen mask attached to my nose.

Why Me?!

Why Me?!

Our jaws are a critical component of our body. They are the home for our teeth, the first step of our digestive system. They are also incredibly strong; did you know your they can exert a force of up to 250 lbs?! That's strong enough to bite though a cinder block (if your teeth could handle it).  

The fitment of our jaws would ideally look like my model below. See how the upper jaw fits slightly over the lower? Notice how the teeth fit into each other when it's closed? These traits render your teeth into a scissor of sorts. Making it easy to tear your food into manageable pieces.

Normal Jaw

The issue with my jaw is how it fits together. I have what's called an open bite.  The top of my jaw, back towards where my molars are, is too long. The extra length prevents my lower jaw from closing all the way.  So with my mouth closed, and my back teeth touching, there is space in-between my upper and lower teeth. My case is particularly bad, the gap in-between my teeth is so large that I can easily push my entire tongue through, mouth closed.

Example of Open Bite fitment

My Open Bite

My Open Bite

Your probably thinking, "ok, so you can't eat a sandwich. Big whoop!" And honestly, I wish that were the only issue. But the reality of the situation is pretty rough. Since my front teeth never touch, they never get used. This forces me to do all of my chewing with my molars. As a result I have brand new, never been used front teeth, and rear teeth that are excessively worn. My molars will wear so much faster than my other teeth that I'll ultimately face being without them, or expensive dental implants. Another issue is speech. My tongue has quite a bit more real-estate than most. The extra space hosted a myriad of speech issues as a child. You can only guess how much fun it is to be a kid growing up with a lisp. Finally, it affects my appearance. I'm by no means a chubby boy, but since my lower jaw couldn't close, I always had the appearance of a double chin.

Modern medical science in all its glory has a couple ways to treat this. Through orthodontics, or surgery. If you want to go the orthodontic route, you've got to have a skeletal system that is still growing. For most, that's till you're a young adult in their early twenties. But once your skeleton is fully grown, you're stuck with the surgical method.

I'd tried the orthodontic method in high school. But my gap was too severe. All it served to do was frustrate me with disappointing Orthodontists visits. So I bagged the first attempt, had the braces taken off and waited till I was in my twenties to try the surgical method.

The surgical method is no walk in the park. But it gets results. All of the Oral Surgeons I'd spoken with wouldn't even see me until I'd had braces on for a year. They want to be sure that your bite is as straight as possible before they permanently set your jaw.

This method has you build a team of an Orthodontist and an Oral Surgeon. They work together to prepare your teeth for the surgery. First the Orthodontist will put braces on you to get your bite straightened out and ready for surgery. Next, the Oral surgeon will perform the procedure. After recovery, the Orthodontists can make any small adjustment to get your bite just right.

To treat my bite, the surgical procedure I had is called a Le Fort I Osteotomy. The surgeon cut my upper jaw, above my teeth, all along my upper gums. Cut the bone to remove the extra length. Pinned the jaw in the right spot with some screws and plates and closed up shop. The best in detail (rated G) explanation I've found so far is here "Le Fort I osteotomy". The best (rated, I dunno PG? Look it's actual surgical footage) can be watched here. Watch the procedure performed