Pre-Op and Before Photos

I can now begin counting down to the surgery date! I had my preop appointment today, and everything is a go. My surgeon explained more about the surgery, did molds, etc. I will explain more in detail now.

• I had to leave my house at around 6am to get to the hospital by my 8 o'clock appointment time. Once I arrived they took me straight to the room to do two sets of molds. This is the mold where they fill a tray with goop and hold it on your teeth until it hardens.
• My surgeon came to the room and looked at my bite and smile. He took a couple of photos of and a video. The video was me saying Mississippi and 55, I guess so they can make sure everything is aligned correctly? At this time 2 other residents came in, as well as the nurse. 4 people is a lot to have in your mouth at once! My surgeon also discovered I have 2 smiles! I apparently have a half smile and what he calls a "tickle smile". (Yes, there was tickling involved to get me to do that smile. Ahaha) He said that it is unusual to have such a difference, and he asked which one I preferred. He will try to keep my smile as close as possible to my current "half-smile" per my request.
• Next one of the residents did a bite cast for some type of imaging. It was a sheet of paper which he poured blue sludge onto. It came out of what looked exactly like a caulking gun. Next, he moved my lower jaw into the correct position so my over bite isn't as prominent, and had me bite down onto the blue goop covered paper. The only thing he forgot to mention was that ti tasted and smelled exactly like hot glue, and burned like it too! Apparently there is some type of reaction that makes the gel heat up as it hardens. After this mold was hardened he went to sculpt it for the machine. Then the piece of now solid blue was put into a little holder that attached to the machine. Unfortunately, when they tried to do the panoramic image with the machine, it refused to turn on, so we had to skip that part.
• Next, my surgeon explained that they would be moving my lower jaw forward about 12 mm, and my upper jaw to match. They will also rotate my lower jaw up slightly. My surgeon wants to move my chin as well, but he said it might not happen, depending on what the insurance will cover. Sometimes they consider it an elective procedure and will not cover it. He also said to expect lots of swelling, numbness, etc. I will stay 1 night in ICU, and then 1 or 2 more in a pediatric room. I also learned I will only be on a liquid diet for 1 week! I was expecting more so that is fantastic! After 1 week I can begin eating "anything I can easily cut with a plastic fork."
• After all of this I went to another floor to have a CT scan done. I wore the blue mold that was made earlier during this scan.
• I then went to ANOTHER floor to have photos taken of my face and teeth. These were nice, high quality photos.

All in all the pre-op took about 3.5 hours. Now onto before photos! I apologize in advance about the quality, especially of the profile view.

 My face while resting. Major RBF.

 This is my half smile, according to the surgeon.

Here you can see my small jaws, which is the problem!

My surgery is June 10th, so check back for more details!

Details of Surgery

After I had decided to do the surgery, my doctor explained what would happen. I would have 4 teeth + my wisdom teeth removed and braces put on. I would then have the braces for about a year to move my teeth back and close the gaps. This was done so that when my jaw wis move forward my teeth will still look even.

My actually surgery is called a Maxillomandibular advancement with genioplasty. This consists of  a BSSO (bilateral sagittal split osteomoty), Lefort 1 Osteotomy, and a genioplasty. Essentially, this involves cutting my upper and lower jaw and moving them forward, along with my chin. My jaw will be held in its new place with metal plates and screws. I have linked to a cute video below which explains the surgery.

This surgery will take about 7 hours + 2 nights in hospital, but the recovery is the worst. I will be on a liquid diet for about six weeks, followed by a soft diet before going to regular food in about 4 months. The surgery will change how I look (hopefully for the better ;p), but of course the real benefit will be the (hopefully) curing of my apnea!

I was originally set to have my surgery later this year, but I found out that I was accepted for a program to south korea! I told my orthodontist that he needed to start moving things faster, because I would be leaving in august and would need time to recover after surgery. The aggressive last few months of braces haven't been fun, but I know it will all pay off in the end.

As of today my surgery is schedule for June 10th. I will keep this blog updated with recovery info, recipes, before and after pics, etc. So check back often!

The Diagnosis

So about a year ago I learned that I had Midface hyperplasia  (a receded jaw) that was causing my severe sleep apnea. I am 5'9, healthy, and only weigh 100 poundss, so my sleep apnea had never been explained before then.

I was diagnosed with SEVERE sleep apnea at only 18 months old, which honestly should have been more cause for concern. I have an ATI of 104, which means that I stop breathing 104 times EVERY. SINGLE. HOUR. I have tried all types of cpap, bipap, etc. but nothing seemed to work for me.

After a move, I started seeing a new doctor, who instantly realized that my misshapen jaws were causing my airway to collapse, leading to the sleep apnea. This happened around May, 2015. He immediately recommended surgery, and so began my journey to having my face broken and rearranged.

Check the next article to hear about the first steps of my surgery  process.