Came home today

[Picollo30]

my face looks like a full moon, its wider, i have two rubber bands on each side of the mouth that hurt like hell. eatinhg soup and liquid, no solid food.nose became wider unfortunately. i still have pain fullness/chimpmunk look is assymetrical. how long for it to solve?

[basmoth]

It's going to get more uncomfortable over the next 2-3 days as the swelling peaks, so don't skimp on the pain killers. Nose blockage lasted around 6 days for me and discomfort that required painillers a week. The first week sucks, but it gradually gets better after that.

As for swelling, it took two weeks for 50% to dissipate, three weeks for 70% and there's a small amount left (15%?) at week 4. It's very easy to feel down in the first weeks after the surgery, but just be patient and enjoy the recovery benchmarks.

[stupidjaws]

it's gonna be a s**tty life for 2 months

[chinnychinchin]

Everything you're seeing is due to swelling. My nose was significantly wider initially due to it but now it's almost back to normal so give it some time. I'm @ 8 months post-op and I STILL have residual swelling. You need to very patient during this process.

[stupidjaws]

Everything you're seeing is due to swelling. My nose was significantly wider initially due to it but now it's almost back to normal so give it some time. I'm @ 8 months post-op and I STILL have residual swelling. You need to very patient during this process.

this

[TMKA]

My chin looked crooked after the surgery for about a week. After the swelling went down, it looked much better and perfectly straight. My nostrils were much wider following surgery, however they didn't stay that way after the swelling went down. I was disappointed in that because my nostrils are very narrow and I welcomed some widening.

[Picollo30]

one thing i notice is that i sleep better after the surgery and breathe better from my nose, even with some blood clots that stayed on my nose and im cleaning with a saline solution. i could even dream yesterday, and i dont remember one where i dreamed before. just for this kind of sleep im glad i did it and if the cosmetic is also good after the swelling is all over it will be a huge bonus. i can see i had an assymetrical mandible and i dont see it now. guess it was fixed in the surgery.

i advise this surgery to everyone who needs it may it be to cosmetic or breathing related problems (sleep apnea). recovery is a bitc**, you want to eat the things you like and you cant, you want to do things you were used to but you limited, but you'll get over it, this a major surgery, no easy stuff and you come through this as a stronger person no doubt.

[Picollo30]

it was a BSSO (7 mm advancement) + Le Fort 1 with CCW rotation of the mandible. It's not a BIG advancement but i notice i sleep better and my jaws that were once crooked are now aligned. I'm also still very swollen so seeing differences will take its time. Today i ate mashed potatoes with shrimp patê and it was heavenly. i was fed up with liquids and protein shakes. For me not being able to eat solid food has been the worst part of this experience so far.

[chinnychinchin]

it was a BSSO (7 mm advancement) + Le Fort 1 with CCW rotation of the mandible. It's not a BIG advancement but i notice i sleep better and my jaws that were once crooked are now aligned. I'm also still very swollen so seeing differences will take its time. Today i ate mashed potatoes with shrimp patê and it was heavenly. i was fed up with liquids and protein shakes. For me not being able to eat solid food has been the worst part of this experience so far.

Bro, I think you're rushing it with the diet which could have dire consequences. I was on a liquid particle-free diet for 2 WEEKS after surgery. That's to prevent any infection from your open wounds. After that, I was on a blended diet for 6 MORE WEEKS (that means absolutely no chewing). If you don't follow this closely you will f**k it all up. Don't mean to scare you but you should really take the diet more seriously or end up compromising the healing process. My surgeon has told me some horror stories of patients not closely following diet protocols and then end up having to do bone grafts from their hip.

[PloskoPlus]

Bro, I think you're rushing it with the diet which could have dire consequences. I was on a liquid particle-free diet for 2 WEEKS after surgery. That's to prevent any infection from your open wounds. After that, I was on a blended diet for 6 MORE WEEKS (that means absolutely no chewing). If you don't follow this closely you will f**k it all up. Don't mean to scare you but you should really take the diet more seriously or end up compromising the healing process. My surgeon has told me some horror stories of patients not closely following diet protocols and then end up having to do bone grafts from their hip.

Better be safe than sorry. AFAIK non american surgeons are more permissive.

[Picollo30]

Better be safe than sorry. AFAIK non american surgeons are more permissive.

you guys are right, but it's just very soft mashed potatoes and patês, i only have to swallow. fortunately my mouth wasnt wired shut, so i can open my mouth to an extent, i'm using a straw to drink liquids, the most pain comes from the pressure caused by the rubber bands and some "spasms" i get in my jaws sometimes, other than that i cant feel the right side of my face and my lower lips/chin (which is strange because there was no sliding genio involved).

[Rico]

you do not know what is s**tty life....

everything will be ok

[chinnychinchin]

you guys are right, but it's just very soft mashed potatoes and patês, i only have to swallow. fortunately my mouth wasnt wired shut, so i can open my mouth to an extent, i'm using a straw to drink liquids, the most pain comes from the pressure caused by the rubber bands and some "spasms" i get in my jaws sometimes, other than that i cant feel the right side of my face and my lower lips/chin (which is strange because there was no sliding genio involved).

Hmm I would also avoid straws (I wasn't allowed to use them until 8 weeks after). The negative pressure it creates within your mouth can dislodge the stitches and increase the likelihood of infections.

I'm sure you're not just "swallowing" it since you're extremely early in the healing process. You might be mashing it against the roof of your mouth subconsciously which can be very bad since you had a LeFort 1. Your tongue is a very strong muscle and it can change things skeletally even in normal people who haven't had surgery (look up tongue posture). Like I said, your wounds are still open and at risk of infection. Infection is the worst and could cause things to go significantly downhill.

The reason why jaw surgery is hard is because of the recovery process. If you want the best recovery possible then you have to give your body the opportunity to heal properly.

[basmoth]

Hmm I would also avoid straws (I wasn't allowed to use them until 8 weeks after). The negative pressure it creates within your mouth can dislodge the stitches and increase the likelihood of infections.

I'm sure you're not just "swallowing" it since you're extremely early in the healing process. You might be mashing it against the roof of your mouth subconsciously which can be very bad since you had a LeFort 1. Your tongue is a very strong muscle and it can change things skeletally even in normal people who haven't had surgery (look up tongue posture). Like I said, your wounds are still open and at risk of infection. Infection is the worst and could cause things to go significantly downhill.

The reason why jaw surgery is hard is because of the recovery process. If you want the best recovery possible then you have to give your body the opportunity to heal properly.

This is something that I've always been curious about - why exactly are the post-op protocols so varied?

For the jaw surgeries I've had, I've been allowed to consume and even chew soft foods past the first week. There was even one surgeon who encouraged me to have them from the 3rd day onwards so as to minimize weight loss. As far as I'm aware, doing so hasn't negatively impacted my recovery.

[PloskoPlus]

This is something that I've always been curious about - why exactly are the post-op protocols so varied?

For the jaw surgeries I've had, I've been allowed to consume and even chew soft foods past the first week. There was even one surgeon who encouraged me to have them from the 3rd day onwards so as to minimize weight loss. As far as I'm aware, doing so hasn't negatively impacted my recovery.

Where did you have surgery?