Double Jaw Surgery Recovery (alone?)

[Ember22]

I've consulted with three different surgeons- the first two recommended SARPE with advancement and did not like the idea of upper and lower with rotation, which was my orthodontist's suggestion.  My orthodontist referred me to Dr. Gunson, and after my consult with him, it is clear to me that SARPE and upper advancement would be detrimental to my aesthetic and not benefit my jaw function.   He is recommending Multi-segmented Lefort 1 and bilateral sagittal osteotomy with rotation, so basically exactly what my orthodontist suggested.  Scary to think I almost thought I could get away with Sarpe and upper advancement.. Anyway, I'm seriously considering surgery with Dr. Gunson.  In order for me to do this, I'd have to fly out to Cali, stay there for three weeks, etc...  Have any of you guys recovered from this surgery alone?  Is it even possible?  Obviously, I would be planning the heck out of everything in advance.  It doesn't matter who I get my surgery from, I'm on my own when it comes to recovery. 

[ditterbo]

I'm not really clear what difference it makes going sapre vs multi segment lefort (3 or 4 piece). Don't both methods enlarge the maxilla? I've not heard of Gunson performing the sapre anyway, so of course he'd steer you towards what he knows how to do, especially if it does the same thing.. 

[Ember22]

I'm not really clear what difference it makes going sapre vs multi segment lefort (3 or 4 piece). Don't both methods enlarge the maxilla? I've not heard of Gunson performing the sapre anyway, so of course he'd steer you towards what he knows how to do, especially if it does the same thing.. 

From my understanding, the anterior portion of my maxilla is overdeveloped and i have a bit of a gummy smile. I also have a steep occlusal plane so (ccw?) rotation is optimal in my case. A segmented lefort Would work well for me, especially because my crowding is anterior  and i have better width in posterior maxilla. If my maxilla was only widened in the saggittal plane the issue of the overdeveloped anterior maxilla wouldn't really be addressed.

[ghiggson90]

I've consulted with three different surgeons- the first two recommended SARPE with advancement and did not like the idea of upper and lower with rotation, which was my orthodontist's suggestion.  My orthodontist referred me to Dr. Gunson, and after my consult with him, it is clear to me that SARPE and upper advancement would be detrimental to my aesthetic and not benefit my jaw function.   He is recommending Multi-segmented Lefort 1 and bilateral sagittal osteotomy with rotation, so basically exactly what my orthodontist suggested.  Scary to think I almost thought I could get away with Sarpe and upper advancement.. Anyway, I'm seriously considering surgery with Dr. Gunson.  In order for me to do this, I'd have to fly out to Cali, stay there for three weeks, etc...  Have any of you guys recovered from this surgery alone?  Is it even possible?  Obviously, I would be planning the heck out of everything in advance.  It doesn't matter who I get my surgery from, I'm on my own when it comes to recovery.

I don't recommend going at it alone, especially for the first week. Probably not impossible, but not setting yourself up for success. You really want to get nutrition, pain relief, medications right early in the recovery, and it's tough to do that when you're feeling pretty wrecked.

[Lazlo]

I've consulted with three different surgeons- the first two recommended SARPE with advancement and did not like the idea of upper and lower with rotation, which was my orthodontist's suggestion.  My orthodontist referred me to Dr. Gunson, and after my consult with him, it is clear to me that SARPE and upper advancement would be detrimental to my aesthetic and not benefit my jaw function.   He is recommending Multi-segmented Lefort 1 and bilateral sagittal osteotomy with rotation, so basically exactly what my orthodontist suggested.  Scary to think I almost thought I could get away with Sarpe and upper advancement.. Anyway, I'm seriously considering surgery with Dr. Gunson.  In order for me to do this, I'd have to fly out to Cali, stay there for three weeks, etc...  Have any of you guys recovered from this surgery alone?  Is it even possible?  Obviously, I would be planning the heck out of everything in advance.  It doesn't matter who I get my surgery from, I'm on my own when it comes to recovery.

You'll be fine. Nice to have someone with you maybe for the first day, you can always hire a private nurse via Gunson for the first day or stay in the hospital a day or two.

Pain is minimal to non-existent and I was walking around, navigating fine, even driving within the first day or two. Then the next three weeks you can just Uber around if you have to for appointments.

The challenges with recovery are more psychological as you feel (oh s**t what have i just done blah blah) but its nothing. For people wondering if you will regret it. No. Almost every patient I've seen after a year or so notices that f**k...yeah I do look much better. Go for it.

[Dogmatix]

Pain is minimal to non-existent

I keep hearing people saying this. I've seen videos of these surgeries and it's hard to understand how this can not cause pain. When people say this, do they mean that they're so high on drugs that they don't feel it, or is it actually no pain?

[Fix_your_bite]

I keep hearing people saying this. I've seen videos of these surgeries and it's hard to understand how this can not cause pain. When people say this, do they mean that they're so high on drugs that they don't feel it, or is it actually no pain?

It is because their face is usually numb for a bit after surgery. So you don't feel pain at all.

[Dogmatix]

It is because their face is usually numb for a bit after surgery. So you don't feel pain at all.

I'll keep you responsible with this quote if I go through with this

[PloskoPlus]

I'll keep you responsible with this quote if I go through with this

I only had upper jaw surgery. I had a little pain from the alar cinch, but that was it. I still have an unopened box of opioids. Never needed pain killers.

[Dogmatix]

I only had upper jaw surgery. I had a little pain from the alar cinch, but that was it. I still have an unopened box of opioids. Never needed pain kissers.

Seems like recovery is pretty easy then. Yes, it's not fun being swollen and being on liquid diet. But as long as it doesn't hurt like someone has just detached and screwed back both your jaws, it should be ok. What would you say is the hardest part with recovery?

[Lazlo]

Seems like recovery is pretty easy then. Yes, it's not fun being swollen and being on liquid diet. But as long as it doesn't hurt like someone has just detached and screwed back both your jaws, it should be ok. What would you say is the hardest part with recovery?

Psychologically, you keep thinking things will change or settle and you look in the mirorr a lot. The best thing to do is just say, I accept whatever is there and I won't even judge it till a year or so out. I've only just come to peace with my surgery and that's almost been two years. I should never have been so concerned.

If you go with Gunson, at least you have the security of knowing you basically had the most state of the art operation done.

The only thing I sometimes guess about Gunson is that his chins aren't always extreme enough, so if you have a weak chin, definitely emphasize you want that almost exaggerated by his standards. I find his surgeries leave people with a weak chin or at least not as much projection as they could have had.

[Dogmatix]

Psychologically, you keep thinking things will change or settle and you look in the mirorr a lot. The best thing to do is just say, I accept whatever is there and I won't even judge it till a year or so out. I've only just come to peace with my surgery and that's almost been two years. I should never have been so concerned.

If you go with Gunson, at least you have the security of knowing you basically had the most state of the art operation done.

The only thing I sometimes guess about Gunson is that his chins aren't always extreme enough, so if you have a weak chin, definitely emphasize you want that almost exaggerated by his standards. I find his surgeries leave people with a weak chin or at least not as much projection as they could have had.

Ye, the biggest stress is probably, "could someone else have done it better". The result is what it is and even the best can only work with what you bring to the table. But there are probably also as many outcomes as there are surgeons, but hopefully they consolidate pretty close.

Is it really not worth judging the result until a year after? What I've seen it seems like it's 90% good after 1-2 months, might as well go into acceptance then?

[PloskoPlus]

Seems like recovery is pretty easy then. Yes, it's not fun being swollen and being on liquid diet. But as long as it doesn't hurt like someone has just detached and screwed back both your jaws, it should be ok. What would you say is the hardest part with recovery?

DJ S is not the same... The hardest parts have been the long term aspects - coming to grips with the subpar aesthetics, nerve damage...

[ghiggson90]

The experience is a very heterogenous one. For some, the hardest part is physical; nerve damage, stiffness, etc. For some it's psychological, especially if aesthetically the surgery falls short. This was the case with me. You can mitigate against the risk of both by choosing one of the top surgeons. Note, the literature reports very high levels of satisfaction with the surgery, but understand that those with greater deformities are likely to be the most satisfied.