Maxillofacial surgery.

Well, in the summer of 2012, i will be undergoing corrective jaw surgery. The bottom jaw will be brought back, the top jaw brought forward and will be realigned as they are asymmetrical. When i read blogs about people that are/have had jaw surgery, i tend to find they have one jaw moved, or a simpler process than mine. So if anyone else will be having my type of surgery, i thought i'd do a step by step of how it's going :)


I'm quite a way into the process, i've been seeing my NHS orthodontist for the best part of 7 years (I'm 18 now), and only recently have i been given the go-ahead for the surgery. When i first agreed to this entire process at the age of 14, i agreed without giving it a second thought. From that age began the process of many many x rays, moulds, photography, etc. I think the ball really began to roll when i just turned 16 and had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted and two further teeth to allow room for the teeth to move once the braces were fitted. 


Now, before this, the last time i had any form of surgery was when i was 3, on a broken arm. So needless to say, i was pretty nervous even though it was only minor surgery. It was quite a blur, i remember being wheeled in to the general anaesthesia room, and then the next thing i remember was waking up. Was in and out within a few hours and was honestly a big worry over nothing :) if anything its a bonus- it means no pain of having your wisdom teeth coming through!


A couple of months after, in december 2010, once the stitches had been taken out from the wisdom teeth removal, came the day to have my upper brace put on as the top teeth needed more work. Braces seem to be a fashion these days, though i felt a little out of place being 18 with braces, especially when it came to moving to university! When they were first put on it felt like i had food constantly stuck on my teeth, but within a couple of days honestly you just don't feel them anymore. and if your gums become slightly irritated, a bit of soft wax does a world of good :)!


Then obviously every couple of months, the brace would be tightened. In late september 2011, i had my lower brace fitted as they needed very little work, and had them tightened once more. Which leads me up to today, i have an appointment to go back on friday, where i will be on my last brace wire before every things all set and ready to go for surgery- ahh! I'll be getting elastic bands on my brace and then things really will be picking up the pace.


I think now i know that the surgery is pretty close, I'm really starting to feel nervous, for anyone that's interested, there was a maxillofacial surgery segment on embarrassing bodies last season? it was pretty gruesome, so if you're squeamish, don't watch!! the pain and the swelling is worrying me most i think, in some sense i want it to bloody hurry up and in others I'm quite jumpy about it! 


Will update on friday :)
x