Double Jaw Surgery w/ Dr. Arnett 10/4

[znewton]

thanks for the response. i definitely entered the surgery with far less info and explanation on what would happen, and my surgery was similar to yours. maybe gunson is just quieter? i don't know. he briefly explained a CCW (after I asked), but spent most of the face time was going over the risks. in fact, most of the talking was about risks. I might move this to my own thread later, a lot more to explore but I need to look over my notes and make sure I'm not forgetting anything. It's good to know Arnett is very thorough in explaining how things will go down during the surgery.

I haven't looked to closely at your pre-op and post-op photos, but in areas where Arnett specifically pointed out where the cheek grafts were placed and HA designed to even everything out (to the best he can), can you see it yourself? Like he said your left is larger than your right, and then provides a treatment plan in addressing that. And you think so far, based on what you're seeing, the asymmetry is fixed compared to pre-op? I mean areas above the jaw, for example.

This questions may sound redundant, feel free to ignore them if you want. It is your thread after all. This really helps me a lot.

I really can't tell due to the uneven swelling. To be honest, I was unaware of much of the asymmetry that he pointed out in the first place. Although the cosmetic improvement is one aspect of this surgery it was not something I was hyper focused on (not implying that you are/were). I just still have a lot of swelling on the right side but looking at my left profile I'm very happy.

[CK]

I really can't tell due to the uneven swelling. To be honest, I was unaware of much of the asymmetry that he pointed out in the first place. Although the cosmetic improvement is one aspect of this surgery it was not something I was hyper focused on (not implying that you are/were). I just still have a lot of swelling on the right side but looking at my left profile I'm very happy.

yeah, i had the same, more swelling on the right than the left. question, again lol - was your right side smaller or larger than the left pre-operatively? or you don't really remember? edit: i mean the sides of your face in general, the curve i guess, not only the jawline, although it is can be beneficial if the cheeks and rims of your face follow the jawline evenly.

[CK]

it might seem tough but it is helpful to take pics one a day or so for the first two weeks, then once a week after. try to get profile, 3/4s and front. it can be a pain i know, but months from now you'll be glad you did. makes it much easier to keep track of your progress or just keep the memories when you're all done a year or so from now. the photos arnett/gunson take are sort of low resolution on paper. plus i think they only do three sets - pre op before surgery (day before), 8 week, and then after braces. but im not 100% sure.

[Cmonster]

Zach, glad to see your swelling going down !!!! HURRAY!!! When do you see Dr.Arnett next?

I know this is slightly premature but how does your face post op look compared to your morph? Would you mind posting a side by side if possible?

[znewton]

Zach, glad to see your swelling going down !!!! HURRAY!!! When do you see Dr.Arnett next?

I know this is slightly premature but how does your face post op look compared to your morph? Would you mind posting a side by side if possible?

Just got back from a 2.5HR drive back to my place in LA from seeing Dr. Arnett this afternoon. Things went well with a big surprise at the end of the appointment that I wasn't necessarily expecting.

Last week I saw Dr. Gunson because Dr. A was busy teaching his annual course in SB. He mentioned that next week (this week) that Dr. A might have to grind down some of the acrylic he used to bond the segments of my upper jaw together and "pull" some of the teeth down. I wasn't quite sure what he meant. Well, I found out at the end of the appointment.

My right molars still aren't touching but they were when Dr. Arnett finished surgery. That being said, he's not worried in the slightest. Bite looks good but as I said he wanted to bring the upper teeth down a bit to tighten up the bite and eliminate the 1.5-2mm overbite/overjet that I currently have. So, at the end of the appt with the assistance of Lena he proceeded to slice the acrylic (on each side) as to "open" each segment back up. I'm not sure how to explain it. Since my upper archwires were cut prior to surgery he had to bond them after surgery to keep it all in line. It's now opened back up and with the grand finale....FOUR rubber bands from my screw to hook (in the middle) and THREE bands on each side of my mouth. The pressure is extremely uncomfortable and I'm not used to it. The good news is that I go back on Thursday for him to re-bond it all together and I can go back to my regular one band at each location. Apparently at 4 weeks out the bone can still be moved a bit so that's what he's trying to do (according to Lena). I didn't really have much time to ask many questions to Dr. A (nor did I really have many) as I was the last patient of the day. He stayed late and I definitely wasn't rushed.

I don't mean to make this seem like some giant deal - because it's simply not. It's just uncomfortable and wasn't what I was expecting. Everything's looking good though so I'm very pleased.

In response to the question about posting my morph vs current profile - that's probably not going to happen. I believe I posted my morph somewhere on this thread at some point. The only reason I say that is because I lost around 25lbs in the year between my initial consult and actual surgery day (on purpose...adopted a very healthy lifestyle along with regular exercise) See picture below:



My face changed a fair amount with the weight loss. That being said, I have no problems posting pictures so people can follow my progress. I'm still pretty swollen in the cheeks and am just waiting for it to all come down. Here's two shots I just took. I'm showing the left profile instead of the right because there's much less swelling.



Day 9 Swelling

Day 26 Swelling


I was not planning on creating this long of a post! I'm exhausted from the long drive home tonight and the intense pressure I feel in my jaws. I can't complain about anything at this point. I'm very pleased with my bite along with the aesthetic improvement I've seen thus far. Every day that goes by is another day of healing

-Z-

[Lazlo]

Great news, you look good.  Can you speak normally now? I.e. maintain a conversation for any length of time? Let's say you had to give like a 30 minute speech to a group of people, do you think you could do it? Just asking with regards to my own concerns about getting back to work...  Thanks.

[znewton]

Great news, you look good.  Can you speak normally now? I.e. maintain a conversation for any length of time? Let's say you had to give like a 30 minute speech to a group of people, do you think you could do it? Just asking with regards to my own concerns about getting back to work...  Thanks.

It's hard to speak with the elastics in which you're required to wear 24/7 outside of doing the prescribed jaw exercises. You're essentially required to speak through your teeth. The office is very firm in making sure patients do not try to move their jaws against the elastics. I can hold a conversation just fine but it can prove difficult at times. I believe around the eight week mark the bands only need to be worn at night which will be a huge relief for me.

[CK]

It's hard to speak with the elastics in which you're required to wear 24/7 outside of doing the prescribed jaw exercises. You're essentially required to speak through your teeth. The office is very firm in making sure patients do not try to move their jaws against the elastics. I can hold a conversation just fine but it can prove difficult at times. I believe around the eight week mark the bands only need to be worn at night which will be a huge relief for me.

i had my bands out a lot sooner. i was told they hate the bands ("it isn't natural") because you can't exercise the jaw muscles. i think they start to taper you off the bands around the 8th week. but i imagine everyone is different.

[znewton]

Just wanted to post a quick update for you all. Today is Day 31 post-op and I'm doing really well. My energy is coming back slowly but surely (slowly being the key word). I went back to work last Monday which requires me to do a fair amont of speaking and the week proved to be fairly rough. I was just beat by the end of the day and would come home, eat dinner, and be in bed by 8 at the latest. My swelling is still hanging on but is slowly coming down. I'm still waking up in the morning with pain in my left joint but that's from the slight clenching I'm doing while asleep. Dr. Arnett has me on some mediation to try and alleviate the clenching but it doesn't 100% stop it. I thought it would stop once my bite was corrected but so far that's not the case. Hopefully it will improve with time. I'm not really sure what else to say here. I'm seeing Dr. Gunson this week since Dr. Arnett will not be in the office. Here's some pictures. The first is Day 24 vs Today and the other is a pre vs post-op.

SLOWLY...but surely it's coming down.


Although not a dramatic transformation I'm quite pleased. I feel as though aesthetically my profile is just an improved version of my former self. I'm anxious to see what's under all the swelling I still have!

[treevernal]

Actually zach, I would def consider your transformation to be dramatic.  Your midface, chin, and throat have all improved tremendously but as you said, you still look like you

[znewton]

Actually zach, I would def consider your transformation to be dramatic.  Your midface, chin, and throat have all improved tremendously but as you said, you still look like you

Thanks That actually means a lot. I guess in my own eyes it's just hard to see. I can't wait to take pics in another few weeks and really compare then.

[Marisama]

Do you have any frontal photos to post. You said you had some asymmetry so it would be interesting to the the improvement there.

[znewton]

I know this is about the worst before/after frontal possible but it's all I've got at the moment. I need to get copies of all the before pictures that were taken by Dr. Arnett the week of surgery. I'm also attempting to smile here which is still difficult at the moment. I was hesitant to really post a picture because my swelling is still very uneven (right side much more swollen than the left). Anyway, here it is:

[Cmonster]

Zach, you look great and so happy !   

[znewton]

Just wanted to make a brief update! I'm thirty-eight days post op and doing really well. Obviously still on the blended diet and it's looking like it wil be ten or eleven weeks in total before I'm released to the soft food diet. I'm considered a "high risk" patient according to Dr. Arnett I believe due to the severity of my open bite along with the 16.5mm advancement of the lower jaw. So far my recovery has been complication free and I've just had to become accustomed to the nuances that come along with recovering from this surgery. This includes but is in no way limited to : friends not understanding you, having to repeat yourself on a regular basis, getting odd looks from strangers upon beginning a conversation and than attempting to explain why you sound/look the way you look, etc etc. I'm headed to see Dr. Arnett on Tuesday for my six week appointment. Here's an updated pre versus post op picture. I'm very pleased with the results and know that I'm nowhere near my final result. Still waiting on my upper lip to come down a bit along with the swelling in my cheeks and whatnot. That's it for now folks!