I'm having orthognathic surgery on Thursday

[browneyes106]

I'll be having orthognathic surgery on Thursday. I have been wearing braces for past two years. Tomorrow will be last real meal my jaws will be banded shut for 4 weeks. If anyone has any recovery suggestions please share.

 

[barkley]

years ago i had my jaws wired shut for 6 weeks due to surgery for tmj.

will you have any stitches inside your mouth from your surgery? i had them from one end of the inside of my upper gum to the other, but i knew others that had far fewer. with extensive stitches the challenge is how to drink liquids without the initial use of a straw (the sucking action makes the stitches pull and it's not comfortable once the realy good numbing meds wear off).

for me, since a straw was out of the question i had to rely on pretty much entirely clearer liquids-lots and lots of broths. juices were o.k. but orange juice hurt like the dickens (acid and healing gums are not a happy combination). towards the end i was madly craving something spicey so we ended up heating some v-8 and adding seasoning to make it taste like pizza sauce

a water pik is a good investment, it helps to clean out your mouth.

another good investment is a small pair of wire cutters. i carried one with me at all times and put my friends on notice where they were located in the event i began choking.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Our daughter just had her upper jaw brought out for the third time three weeks ago. We're hoping this will be the last time. lol

The hospital may give you some dry sodium stuff to put in water to rinse with. She still despite using that and brushing, has some dried blood up in the brace they have over her braces. It would drive me crazy if it was me, but luckily she doesn't care much. All she cares about is getting the dratted thing off. lol

She doesn't have her jaw wired shut, but does still have some pain trying to open her mouth just wide enough to get a spoon in.
She is on liquids and soft foods right now. We've given her grits, soup, soft scrambled eggs, applesauce, baby food bananas. But, any fruit that can be put in the food processor would probably be good and a lot tastier than baby food. lol And, don't forget Ensure, smoothies, shakes and such.

Good luck on your surgery, too.

Kim

 

[mrsmom]

My daughter 15 then, had both her bottom and upper jaws brought out last July, the main thing take it easy and don't try to do stuff to soon. My daughter tried to eat but she couldn't and ended up with a feeding tube in her nose for a month. Try and drink ensure and then work up to applesauce then things like mashed potatoes.,it take getting use too but will be worth it. Good Luck!! keep us updated on how you are doing.
kim

 

[Mandychelle79]

Oodles of noodles covered in mashed potatoes taste like heaven

Spaghetti noodles can fit through the gap they leave

Birthday cake with ice cream in a blender is good

It feels weird to chew once the wires come off

yawing too much will cause the wires to stretch

Wendy's chili has too many chunks and is impossible to eat

JAW BRA will be your best friend for a few days

oh and the shot they can give you for pain may hurt more than what your jaw does.

 

[barkley]

do not hesitate to ask the doc for something to have on hand (in liquid form) for nausea-believe me, you do not want to get sick to your stomach when your jaws are wired shut (unfortunatly on this matter i speak from experience).

 

[browneyes106]

Update
I'm doing well but had to go on a NG tube for at least week. My swelling has gone down and I'm wearing button front pajama tops to avoid hurting my face. I'm wearing the jaw bra right now.

 

[mrsmom]

I glad everything went okay, sorry to hear you had the ng tube like my dd but really it help you get the liquids you need
I was amazed what she looked like after all the healing was done and her braces were off. Try to take it easy and get lots of rest!
Kim

 

[Hillbeans]

I hope you are recovering well and that you feel a little bit better each day, hang in there.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hoping recovery is real soon and all turns out well.

 

[mrsmom]

Browneyes106,
How are you doing? I hope your feeling better.
Kim

 

[browneyes106]

I'm doing better and a lot my swelling has gone down. I have two more weeks until the bands come off.

 

[Robindianne]

K now I'm interested! Can you tell me all about it? I looked it up online (never heard of it before you) and I'm so interested!

 

[christineann]

Hope you're feeling better! My son had the surgery outpatient because our health insurance didn't cover it. He used a "food pusher" and ate a lot of tomato soup. Six weeks later he entered criminal justice academy and didn't have any trouble, even with the physical training in the summer heat. The before and after x-rays were amazing.

It certainly looks like a very rough surgery to undergo.