Double Jaw Surgery -- Numbness Question

[mkmoritz]

I'm set to have my double jaw surgery in a month or two, and I'm getting a little nervous.  (Reading horror stories probably doesn't help).

My #1 concern is permanent numbness in the face. 

My surgeon comes highly recommended in the Houston area, and Houston is one of the top medical cities in the U.S. -- so I'm pretty confident in my surgeon.

Just wondering -- is there anything specific that causes someone to have permanent nerve damage?  Is it (bad) genetics?  Or does it all rely on the surgeon?   Any info will help

Thanks

[ForeverDet]

It is highly unlikely and almost unheard of to have permanent (complete) numbness after jaw surgery if it's being performed by a competent surgeon. Like when you get wisdom teeth pulled or a cavity and they stick you with a needle. However partial numbness where there's altered sensation and mildly numb is unfortunately common although it depends on the person definitely. Some recover all sensation while others like me seem to be stuck partial numbness forever.

If numbness is your top concern well... that's great! Haha. I don't mean to scare you or have you go searching online for more horror stories but there's a ton of complications that occur even when the best surgeon operates on you that are way more serious than numbness.

I'm sure it'll turn out great though. What are your issues and has your doc told how he'll be moving your jaws specifically?

[PloskoPlus]

It's age-related mostly.  The older you are, the more likely you're to have permanent numbness as a result.  However, most people who end up getting it say after a while they don't notice it.

[mkmoritz]

I'm sure it'll turn out great though. What are your issues and has your doc told how he'll be moving your jaws specifically?

I have a crossbite and underbite. I have an appointment next week to go over specifics... So I'll find out some more details then.

[ticktickatick]

I'm set to have my double jaw surgery in a month or two, and I'm getting a little nervous.  (Reading horror stories probably doesn't help).

My #1 concern is permanent numbness in the face. 

My surgeon comes highly recommended in the Houston area, and Houston is one of the top medical cities in the U.S. -- so I'm pretty confident in my surgeon.

Just wondering -- is there anything specific that causes someone to have permanent nerve damage?  Is it (bad) genetics?  Or does it all rely on the surgeon?   Any info will help

Thanks

Genioplasty really ups the chance that you will get permanent numbness. Genio by nature stretches that whole main nerve.

Although it was my choice, I ended up getting genio at the strong recommendation from my surgeon because my chin was soooo small. I was going to leave it out but he said I probably would not like my profile in the end without it. I mean, really, the chin itself was completely flat at best, no natural shape at all. But if you have any chin to speak of, consider avoiding genio if you are worried about numbness.

[nrelax11]

I just had surgery 4 days ago and dont have too much numbess. Just a little in my chin, but I can still feel that im touching it when I push my finger against it. So you might get lucky like me and not have numbness. Although you have to deal with pain then

[pinky]

mkmoritz,

Who is your surgeon? I am also in Houston.

[mkmoritz7]

pinky... I went to Dr. Terry Taylor. He's in the Skurlock tower at Methodist. Very good. Hes a great guy and I'm happy with my results so far. (10 days post op as of today)

[PloskoPlus]

hmmm let explain its stragiht

numbness is when you have less then 100% of feeling
if 99.9999999999999999999999999999999% its still numbness. And it depends mostly on the surgeon how badly damaged your nevers and on your body (much less) its regenerating properties

I think, nowadays there shouldn't be something like nerve damage during surgery. For me its means that our medical knowledge is completly weak

As the jaws are repositioned, the nerves are stretched.  It's simply unavoidable.

[Rico]

I know the aim is to make a nerve reconstruction pefectly. impossible nowadays

[Cmonster]

I believe numbness or lack thereof will rely on three things- the skill of your surgeon, technique, and the equipment they use.
Often we fear nerves being severed/cut, but even simple manipulation such as stretching the nerve can harm it.
Getting a genio WITH lower jaw dramatically increases the risk.
For technique, people who have IVRO are less likely to have damage compared to BSSO.
The other is equipment, I have heard of surgeons using piezoelectric devices to minimize nerve trauma.
Piezoelectric device or piezosurgery device was originally developed for the atraumatic cutting of bone by way of ultrasonic vibrations and as an alternative to the mechanical and electrical instruments that are used in conventional oral surgery.

[Rico]

You have to know , that slightly damaged nerves - called neuropraxia - generally always recover in 100%

 piezoelectric devices should be standard now. Ask about that all surgeons

[molestrip]

There are virtually no surgeons in the US that use piezoelectric devices We have no way of knowing the skill of a surgeon, right? We just have reputation to go by and anecdotes. I visited a few top surgeons and none of them do IVRO. So in the US, really it comes down to a crapshoot, right? Hopefully your surgeon is careful and your body heals well.

Speaking of which, there's one surgeon I've met who does their surgeries in pairs. That is, every surgery is done by two surgeons. How much of a difference do you all think that'll make?