Nerve Repair Surgery?

[Cmonster]

Interesting topic. I actually inquired about where my nerves were during my pre-op appointment and where incisions would be made. I was shown where my nerves were running (mine were kind of lower in my jaw) and the likelyhood of them being in the way. Parts of my face are quite numb, so I can only hope I regain sensation there.

[pekay]

a lot of people seem to confuse mobility and sensibility, the former eventually comes back in full. the latter? you have better odds on winning the lottery

i see a bunch of people (mild class III) over at the .br forum opting for an IVRO instead of a BSSO in order to avoid the permanent loss of feeling in the lower lip but I guess that really isn't an option if you need a somewhat aggressive advancement and rotation plus being wired shut for ~6 weeks is borderline torture

[Mighty_Mouth]

i had IVRO, 2-piece Lefort I, and genio one year ago.  (I relapsed and need more surgery, but that's another story)

I have significant numbness in my lower lip, as in still can't drink out of a cup without making a mess, and it does drive me crazy.  Like Pekay pointed out, I have full mobility, I just can't feel anything.

My surgeon has said over and over that no nerves were severed/damaged in the surgery, so I should not have any numbness.  But I do.  I think it must be from the genio and not the IVRO, but I do also have some numbness were the bony cuts were made.  My chin is also numb, and there are a few painful sensitive areas.  I am wondering if the nerve is somehow pinched in there.

Now, I am a woodwind player as well, so lower lip numbness is very significant to me.  I'm not sure how "crazy" it would drive anyone else.  I am guessing at this point that I will not get anything more back.  My other areas of numbness are pretty much gone.

[pekay]

i had IVRO, 2-piece Lefort I, and genio one year ago.  (I relapsed and need more surgery, but that's another story)

wow, what happened? what class were you before? class III? how old are you now? according to your surgeon what caused you to relapse?

[Mighty_Mouth]

I'm class II with anterior open bite and asymmetry.  I relapsed because I had further degeneration of the condyle, so I have further asymmetry and my bite opened up again.  I needed correction in all three planes of space, and apparently was a complex case.  I was told that during the surgery, my bite would not stay together in the ideal position, that they had to re-plate it six times during surgery, and that there wasn't enough bone left for them to do any more surgery in that round.  So I am supposed to have another Lefort I to even the cant and more posterior impaction and another IVRO to address the asymmetry.  I had 7mm of posterior impaction the first time.  I don't know my other measurements.  I'm 36.  I don't have a surgery date yet.  Right now they're treating my joint problems and hoping to decrease the inflammation before surgery to reduce the chance of any further relapse.

[pekay]

@Mighty_Mouth: are you male or female?

[x]

I'm class II with anterior open bite and asymmetry.  I relapsed because I had further degeneration of the condyle, so I have further asymmetry and my bite opened up again.  I needed correction in all three planes of space, and apparently was a complex case.  I was told that during the surgery, my bite would not stay together in the ideal position, that they had to re-plate it six times during surgery, and that there wasn't enough bone left for them to do any more surgery in that round.  So I am supposed to have another Lefort I to even the cant and more posterior impaction and another IVRO to address the asymmetry.  I had 7mm of posterior impaction the first time.  I don't know my other measurements.  I'm 36.  I don't have a surgery date yet.  Right now they're treating my joint problems and hoping to decrease the inflammation before surgery to reduce the chance of any further relapse.

That's scary. I'm a class iii, anterior open bite, mandibular asymmetry. So you have condylar resorption?

I think us open bite cases are at among the highest risk for relapse. Either way I wish you the best of luck.

[Mighty_Mouth]

@ Pekay--I'm female

@ Euphoria--Thank you!

They're not calling it condylar resorption.  I have degenerative joint disease.  My left condyle is hypoplastic; it has always been shorter.  I can tell in pictures even when I was just four years old.  I don't have a history of trauma, as far as I can remember.  I guess it just grew (or did not grow) that way.  I had ortho as a teen which straightened my teeth but did not address jaw deformity.

When I had my braces off after surgery, I was given a positioner, which my surgeon says loaded the joints and caused the DJD to become active again.  Hence, the relapse.  It's actually my second relapse and I am looking at a third surgery.  My second surgery was five months after the first, and was just a Lefort.  My mandible did not react kindly to the change, and so now I'm going back in for the double whammy.

[Sharptoys]

I have degenerative joint disease. 

Out of curiosity -- what specific disease?

[Kristen]

Mighty mouth.... How are they treating your "joint disease". ?    Hope your getting more opinions

[Mighty_Mouth]

Right now they're saying it is osteoarthritis, but I also have lupus, so it complicates things.  They're treating it with splint therapy and a combination of medication, also PT to help neck and shoulders relax as the bite adjusts with the splint.  I've had many opinions.  I trust the team I have now, but sometimes it does feel like just a crapshoot.

[Kristen]

What medications do they give you?