Author Topic: If not a medical necessity, is jaw revision surgery a possibility?  (Read 3923 times)

nowachimp

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My question is, has anyone actually gotten a revision surgery to move their jaw back the original position? I hate to ask this question but sometimes I feel quite depressed with my post op appearance at times and it really doesn't help that I get reminded that my face looks like a mess by my mother. (I think she is more upset by it than me sometimes.) EDIT: For now I would like to conceal my identity so I won't be posting any pictures of my face out on this forum but I will pm a link my jaw photos for anyone is curious of how I look b&a

All the way back in December 2015 (approx 11 months ago, so there's no more waiting and watching for any more change in my post-op features) I underwent double jaw surgery to correct my asymmetrical lower jaw and anterior open bite. Originally the thought of surgery didn't run through my mind. But my orthodontist has a partnership with this surgeon who operated with me. So naturally after inspecting my case, He referred me to this surgeon who convinced me that double jaw surgery was the way to go. Being young and naive at 18, my mother and I were semi pressured into agreeing to have the surgery done thinking it would solve all my physical problems. To raise my point across surgery wasn't a complete failure, I don't mind the way they positioned my lower jaw, it's just that the upper jaw is something that should not be toyed with so easily and If only I had the opportunity to go back in time, I would choose not to undergo surgery if my upper jaw was to be moved.

Recovery was a pain, but since I'm young I healed relatively quick within the course of three weeks. Now the Aftermath of surgery left my face with this new chimp like appearance. Originally I had a long and flat face with a sharper nose and flat cheeks. After the surgeon performed the Lefort 1 maxilla advancement on my upper jaw I've been told by several family members, that my upper jaw has been pushed too forward and that my nose looks too short for my face. Meaning that this surgery must have stretched the space between the tip of my nose and the top of my lip way too far. Also my nose is severely wide and too upturned, initially I did still have a pig-like nose due to my Asian heritage but my nostrils weren't that prominent however after this surgical procedure, you can see the two deep dark voids of my nostrils very CLEARLY. Alongside my nose changing, the worst is the new gummy smile. Prior to the upper jaw surgery I at least had no visible gummy smile. I feel as if this purely a result of the advancement via Lefort1.

When I asked my surgeon about it He simply said I already had a gummy smile before which is complete bull said to cover any physical flaws that I've managed to undercover during the aftermath of surgery. Even after all this time, I know that they also mentioned that my bite isn't perfect and physically it is impossible for me to achieve the 'perfect' bite after the surgery because the placement shifted a little so my orthodontist keeps putting elastics on my teeth in attempt to align the bite. In short, the upper jaw was not necessary but It was something that I was sort of forced into.

Whilst all this makes me sound like a very superficial and vain person, my outwards appearance isn't the only thing that concerns me. I feel like the advancement in my upper jaw has caused the inside of my nose to expand too much. Sometimes it gets really sore to breathe.

My current situation is that I am very unsatisfied with the outcome of my procedure and I am researching a way that I can possibly get a revision for my upper jaw to move to back to its original place, I know It won't be 100% like how I was before I did surgery, but I did read once that pushing the upper jaw back would cause the nose to narrow back. This chimp look is really something that is bothering me. The problem is that I am faced with having to confront this surgeon and orthodontist of mine by opposing what they have worked around on for me. Speaking out on my true feelings towards my post-op will probably make them offended and I know having offending them and forcing him to perform a second operation on me would probably not resort very well.

At the moment I am considering seeking out other surgeons but I have no idea where about I can find a surgeon who will specialise in jaw surgery and will be willing to move my upper jaw back to the position it was in if not for the sake of medical benefit. I can scared of simply scouting out a random cosmetic surgeon who might run the risk of severing my nerves for good because they aren't specialised in jaw surgery.

After reading all these case of people who have received the 'chimp' look I want to know if anyone has actually been able to get a revision surgery done or if that is simply a myth and everyone is simply trying to move on with their lives after their post-op. If someone knows of a jaw surgeon who would be willing to do a revision operation in Melbourne, Australia I would really like to know.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2016, 07:48:22 AM by . »

jawregret

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Re: If not a medical necessity, is jaw revision surgery a possibility?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2016, 10:40:54 AM »
You're definitely not alone. I think you should let your doctors know how dissatisfied you are with the result, but you have to present it in a calm and collected way. It's your face. You're the one who has to live with it, not them.

PloskoPlus

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Re: If not a medical necessity, is jaw revision surgery a possibility?
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2016, 12:48:18 PM »
If your bite is solid you may have no luck getting it revised locally. This is all that they care about. You may have to go overseas to have this fixed.

The longer upper lip is an illusion. I have it too. The upper lip cannot be lengthened. But your maxilla is probably pushing against it now makes vertical and closer to the viewer this making it look longer. The raised nasal tip contributes to this.

David_D

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Re: If not a medical necessity, is jaw revision surgery a possibility?
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2016, 06:27:56 PM »
Yes, it is possible.  There are surgeons who will perform revision surgery in the absence of "medical necessity, which, itself, is subject to widely variant interpretations.  I've had two double jaw surgeries, and the second wasn't medically necessary at all.

nowachimp

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Re: If not a medical necessity, is jaw revision surgery a possibility?
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2016, 03:42:15 AM »
David_D, would you be able to share a bit about your case? Did you undergo a revision surgery with the same surgeon who did your first operation?