Author Topic: Gunson is booking 8 months ahead for consults, then another 8 months for surgery  (Read 5250 times)

secondtimearound

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What a joke. If I book my consult today I can have my surgery in 16 months.

Okay. Next.

It wasn't this bad last I called but I'm guessing this is partly due to Arnett retiring.

Lestat

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secondtimearound

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Can you afford him?

I will pay any amount necessary to have a normal face. I don't want to spend that much but I can and will if I have to.

I can't follow this ridiculous schedule though. I'm gonna get in line for a consult anyway just in case but this is absurd.

Lestat

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I will pay any amount necessary to have a normal face. I don't want to spend that much but I can and will if I have to.

I can't follow this ridiculous schedule though. I'm gonna get in line for a consult anyway just in case but this is absurd.

Aren't you the guy with the Anteface? Excuse me if I mistake you for someone else. If I were you, I would not do any surgery, if you are not happy with Anteface right now, you will not be without it.

CCW

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He's a great surgeon who consistently provides good results. That's why he's highly in demand and the waiting list is long. What's the rush? One of the reasons people get a poor result is because they rush the surgery and go with the local mom-and-pop surgeon without doing the proper research first and consulting with more than one.

Dogmatix

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Can you afford him?

Do you have any example of what rates he charge for different procedures?

secondtimearound

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Aren't you the guy with the Anteface? Excuse me if I mistake you for someone else. If I were you, I would not do any surgery, if you are not happy with Anteface right now, you will not be without it.

My case is here:
http://jawsurgeryforums.com/index.php?topic=7113.0

secondtimearound

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He's a great surgeon who consistently provides good results. That's why he's highly in demand and the waiting list is long. What's the rush? One of the reasons people get a poor result is because they rush the surgery and go with the local mom-and-pop surgeon without doing the proper research first and consulting with more than one.

Yeah CCW that's the hard part of it. I'm old already. This face is not working for me. Every year that goes by is just another year lost. I also need SARPE which will mean another 9 months of braces after the first surgery before my final surgery. So that "16 month wait" is really a 25 month wait for me. ie. It will be 2020 by the time I get my jaws fixed with Gunson.

I can't see that as viable. But yes obviously I want someone who knows what they're doing. I'm hoping Wolford will be my salvation.

CCW

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Gunson doesn't do SARPE because he thinks it's old-fashioned (Wolford either), so there's that. If money's no issue, I'd at least consult with Gunson so that you get a decent idea about your case and what you need. 

secondtimearound

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Gunson doesn't do SARPE because he thinks it's old-fashioned (Wolford either), so there's that. If money's no issue, I'd at least consult with Gunson so that you get a decent idea about your case and what you need.

Wtf? Are you sure?

How on earth do they handle >1 cm transverse upper jaw deficiencies? Multipiece Lefort is only safe up to a MAX of 1 cm and my surgeon told me he wouldn't advise it for my case, especially given that I am a revision, as segmental LF1 can relapse slightly as the connective and scar tissue around the jaw contracts during healing.

Additionally, the complexity of doing a 2 or 3 piece LF1 while also rotating the jaws CCW and tilting them to one side to fix a cant/asymmetry all at once would be ridiculous. Very easy to misalign something or have bad blood supply when you're juggling up to three pieces in 3D and you're not straight impacting the whole structure either.

Sure you could say "that's what they're paid for", and maybe that's true, but I'm skeptical.
 
I'd rather not get SARPE if I don't have to. But I've researched this subject thoroughly and I'm not familiar with anyone doing anything else for 1 cm or more. Technically I have an 8 mm transverse deficiency, so maybe I could get away with it.

That would be incredible. It would save me 9 months of braces, tooth gap, gum recession, etc.!

Waiting for Wolford's secretary to let me know their booking dates. I think their office is still on vacation since no one is picking up. Now I'm really curious what he'll have to say.

CCW

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I'm pretty sure I have never heard of him doing SARPE over a 3-piece LF1. He routinely does a 3-piece LF1 with his CCW MMA surgery. He can do it.

secondtimearound

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I'm pretty sure I have never heard of him doing SARPE over a 3-piece LF1. He routinely does a 3-piece LF1 with his CCW MMA surgery. He can do it.

Maybe those people have milder problems? I'm always impressed by how normal many people's cephs and photos look before jaw surgery. I don't know if I'd go through it all if I just needed "4 mm transverse expansion", etc.

Take a look at the presentation posted here if you haven't seen it already:
http://jawsurgeryforums.com/index.php?topic=6415.msg61525#msg61525

This is what I'm aware of from my prior reading. Multipiece LF1 most likely cannot accommodate these big changes (I need 8 mm) unless these surgeons have found a way to push the surgeries farther while still being safe. Maybe they're using bone grafts to bridge the gaps?

CCW

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Both Gunson and Wolford use HA paste for stability at the osteotomy sites. Both of them also claim their surgeries are very stable (seems to be true). I have seen them fix large crossbites without SARPE, so I guess they can do it.

Wolford's B/As have some pretty dramatic changes:
http://www.drlarrywolford.com/galleries/photos-maxillofacial-surgery/


kavan

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If you need a down fracture down graft and transverse expansion, then multi segment Lefort. SARPE just spreads the maxillae apart
Please. No PMs for private advice. Board issues only.

secondtimearound

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If you need a down fracture down graft and transverse expansion, then multi segment Lefort. SARPE just spreads the maxillae apart

Yeah the problem is that traditionally at least multipiece lefort can do at most 6-7 mm expansion.

Unless like I said Gunson and Woldord have pushed the technique much farther...