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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Decisions, Decisions.. Ugh..

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I met with the surgeon last Monday. (This is a very silly side note, but so far, I have met two residents that will be assisting with the surgery and they were both HOT! Damn! I am sure they will be very turned on not only by my no makeup/scary look, but by my huge swollen face, etc. haha I don't care in all honesty, but it does give me something nice to look at) :)
Anyway, back to the issue(s) at hand. So, I met with the surgeon and he introduced me to the hot resident Dr. Q. (Apparently Dr. Q has been doing/assisting with these surgeries for 6 years now and about to finish his residency and go into plastic surgery). Dr. W (my surgeon) wanted Dr. Q to look over everything (final measurements, xrays, molds, me) and make his own analysis before they consulted together. Dr. W (two weeks prior) had told me that I definitely need surgery on the bottom jaw and probably surgery on the top jaw as well. The surgery on the top jaw would have been minor movements (2 mms or so) and it would be to fix the midline (that was only 1 mm) fix the cant and bring it forward 2 mms. So anyway, Dr. Q did his analysis and said in his opinion he obviously agrees on the bottom jaw (bringing it forward and fixing the "crookedness"), but he thinks I need genioplasty as well. I completely agreed with this as my chin definitely sticks out way too much (and will only stick out more when they move the jaw forward). And finally, although he agreed that my top jaw is "off" in the ways Dr. W noted, he basically said he does not think all the added risks and work that would come with doing the top jaw would be worth it when it would be such little movements. He said I would not even notice the difference.
So, Dr. W and him consulted with each other and they both came back in to discuss everything with me. We all agreed right then that I would definitley have lower jaw surgery and the genioplasty. But, he said the upper jaw would be up to me. (And let me tell you, I cannot even make the simplest decisions, like what to have at a restaurant, so both my mom and I knew right then this would be trouble). He went on to say, that he could do the top jaw if I wanted b/c there were definite issues (although very minor) with it, but he restated that the top jaw is a lot riskier than the bottom and when talking about 2 mm it would not be a noticeable change. So they told me to sleep on it and let them know my decision.
Needless to say, I did not "sleep" on it, I tossed and turned the whole night. I must have changed my mind a million times, knowing that I am a perfectionist and knowing that I am going thru all this anyway, so why not just do it all and get it 100% right? But, then the more rational part of me would realize that it is not worth all that extra risk for a change that won't even be noticeable. AND Dr. W did tell me that functional-wise, it would be 100% even with just the lower jaw. And that is what was really important. So, after 3 long days and meeting with my ortho for over an hour (who basically told me the same thing - not worth it), I finally decided to just have the lower jaw and genioplasty. I am relieved in some ways that it will be a lot less surgery and hopefully a little better recovery, but I still keep second guessing my decision. :( I just hope I don't feel dissapointed afterwards that I didn't fix everything to perfection. But, I think overall I am happy and content with the decision.
And if all that weren't enough, when I spoke to my Dr. to let him know my decision, he asked me if I had decided about the surgery on my nose. I had kind of forgotten about this with everything else going on, but at our first meeting I talked to him about how I have a lot of trouble breathing thru my nose, especially on the left side. He told me he could do a procedure to widen my nostrils and to fix my deivated septum. He said he could do this at the same time as my jaw surgery in my case (Depending on the case, sometimes he will not do that at the same time). I would really like to get that done b/c I think a lot of my problems (mouth breathing, previous open bite, etc) are due to my nose and sinus problems. But, he told me there would be packing up my nose for 4 days (i.e. I wouldn't be able to breathe thru my nose AT ALL - Um, scary!) and that it is very uncomfortable when they are taken out. Well, I researched that a little and read some very scary stories, including some people saying that having the packing pulled out was the worst pain they have ever felt in their lives. So, that is where I am at right now. I still have to decide about the nose. If anyone has any experience with this, especially alongside having the jaw surgery, please let me know. Even though I think it would make a huge positive impact on my life (I barely even breathe thru my nose now), I think it might just be too much all at once.
Well, I can't beleive it's only a week and a day away. I feel like I am actually starting to get more calm about the whole thing. I am ready to just have it all over with at this point. Oh, and if anyone has any recommendations on food they ate or specific recipes, I would greatly appreciate it! (All I have is Ensure so far - bad, I know). I will be on here again soon, I am sure.

7 comments:

Corey said...

I wouldn't want you to look back and wish that you had done both jaws, but I will tell you that the upper jaw is what made me soooo miserable. I didn't have much pain at all from the lower and genio, but the upper....ugh. If you wouldn't notice a difference from it, not worth it. The nose...i'm not sure about...I wish I could have had that done at the same time. I didn't know that I would need it to be able to breathe properly until afterwards. so my surgeon said I would have to wait at least 6 months before considering it. I don't think I will...surgery sucks lol. Good luck with everything...Do you like apple pie? I have an awesome recipe for an apple pie shake. :)

S said...

I am having both upper and lower done, they are not sure about genio yet, they will decide during surgery, scary I know. I really hope that they do not do the genio, I'll have enough to work with at the time. If I was in your shoes I would not do the upper surgery, I'm sure that it will not make a difference, why go through all that trouble.

Corey said...

Sue- They had to decide on my genio during the surgery too...he wasn't sure. but really, the lower and genio did not cause much pain at all...so don't be scared! :-)

Meredith said...

Hey surgery buddy :)
I'll be having the septoplasty at the same time, and I'm more than a little freaked out about it too! In my case it's necessary because of what they're doing with the upper jaw, but I'll try to post if it isn't that bad.

stephanie said...

That sounds scary. I know the worst part for me was the swelling / not being able to breathe post surgery (due to the upper jaw). Now, if you combined that with a packed nose... how are you going to breathe?! Are you going to be banded shut? Sounds frankly terrifying for me.

I had an option to not get the genio, but I'm glad I did in the end - while my result would have been functionally okay, it really did improve the harmony of my face. And I'm happy with it.

Except for the breathing thing (which was yucky but only lasted a few days), I don't really think jaw surgery was all that bad. It's just the darned recovery that's killing me - and you'll get that no matter what combination of surgery you have.

Meredith said...

Good luck tomorrow! I'm sure you're going to do great. I'll be praying for you and looking forward to hearing how you're doing!

Kelly said...

Thanks guys for all your comments! I am sorry I haven't responded earlier, but it has been so busy lately. Meredith - I have been following along and promise to comment on your posts as soon as I am able to type. I am glad you made it thru and are getting better every day! And Corey, why YES, I do love me some apple pie!! :) Man, I can't believe it's tomorrow!! I'll talk to you guys soon!