how do i go about setting up a consulation with Dr.Z?

[SDM360]

Hello everyone,

for the past year I have been considering in enhancing my lower jaw. The chin wing osteotomy is the procedure I am most comfortable and interested in. I am likely going to go with Dr. Z, but I do live in Canada so I am wondering what would be the best approach to set up a consultation date with him. For those who have experience with him, would it be best to call his office or email him? Also I should note I do not know any German at all, so I am not sure how much of a problem this is. Finally, If any member of this forum would be kind enough to share their experience of their own chin wing surgery it would be much appreciated, all information about the surgery would be useful ( pre-op info, diet, things to watch out for, tips for post op, etc).

Thank you.

[lamb]

Hi, I'm also from Canada and considering Z but for ZSO.  Will you be going by yourself?  I probably will be and would need after care there.  I also speak no German.  Feel free to PM.

[SDM360]

It's a busy little office, and Dr.Z was always very busy when I was there, so if they aren't replying straight away its because there's usually a lot going on. I think I first got in touch via email but you can also ring the place, as I have before as well. One of the secretaries there didn't speak very good English but generally it wasn't too bad. I had the chin wing and I'm very glad that I did. I think Dr Z is a great, trustworthy surgeon. He still gets back to me now with questions and I'll be going back to him again in the future.

It's a slightly harder recovery there when you don't speak any German, but Berlin is a nice place and most speak English. I can't think of any useful info pre-op with regard to things you should be taking. For post Op recovery, I'd suggest staying the entire time at the hospital if you can afford it. It is a pain having to travel around by bus or taxi a lot if you need frequent check-ups and it ends up being quite expensive anyway. I stayed in some cheap hotel and it was boring as hell. I had to walk daily to the shops to buy drinks/milkshakes, which wasn't the best thing to be doing with a swollen face and new scar on hip, so I'd suggest buying loads of that stuff and keeping it at wherever you will be staying beforehand, if it won't be at the hospital. Maybe even bring a little blender so you can make your own smoothies. you won't be eating for quite a while.

Recovery is quite hard - at least it was for me with regard to swelling and comfort. felt and looked a lot more like jaw surgery compared to standard genio which I had before.  Don't let the swelling freak you out too much, give yourself a good amount of time to heal, and use the chlorhexidine mouthwash as much as you can to avoid infection (I got one). I am really glad I went through with it now. It gave a nice, natural looking improvement.

Thank you for taking the time to write that! I am likely planning to stay the entire post op (about 2 weeks?) in the hospital. I assume they will provide everything in terms of appropriate meals? I know beforehand you will need to do a conebeam CT to find the location of your nerve in your mandible. Do you think its possible to do the consult and the conebeam CT the same day? I would not like to spend too long in germany for just my consult.

[lamb]

omg two weeks in hospital.  i would not want that personally.