Update on my Corticotomy aka Wilckodontics

[terry947]

good luck man! hope all goes well!

[buzzhead]

Hey man, good luck with the surgery.  I just had a consultation with my surgeon and am looking at an August surgery.  He recommends cadaver bone for down grafting my maxilla as it will make my recovery better not having to endure an added procedure of having a piece of my hip harvested. I suppose less time under anesthesia as well.  I have heard that the less time under the better.  The donated bone is supposed to be replaced with my own over time through normal natural processes.

[needadvancement]

Thanks guys. @ Buzzhead that sounds like a good plan, what type of surgery are you getting?

Currently I still got these pieces of glue on my upper molars to prevent me from biting on my braces. So annoying and it makes eating very difficult. Summer can't come soon enough By then it's just 3 months of braces keeping my new bite in place.

[buzzhead]

I have short face syndrome. Four bicuspid extraction orthodontics when younger.  Both jaws will be moved forward.  Upper will be lowered with bone graft and plates and widened slightly.  Jaws rotated CW.

[buzzhead]

segmental lefort1.

[buzzhead]

Yes.  I have been in my second set of braces for two years this next month.  This was to decompensate my bite so that the jaws will fit together correctly after surgery.  The time really did pass much more quickly than I originally thought that it would.

[buzzhead]

Most importantly, I have obstructive sleep apnea which I think was exasperated by pushing my tongue back into my throat by my previous orthodontics.  I tried every mask they make and settled for one that still is a pain in the xxx.  If my nose is plugged forget it.  It slips off my face at night which wakes up my wife who then wakes me up!  I also am left with strap marks on my face that last most of the day.  I really really want to be free of this torture device!

[needadvancement]

Soo I had the surgery today. I haven't been in any pain because I've used medication well and local anesthetic worked great, most of the discomfort are from the shots and now the swelling. But man, this is not for the squeamish. I layed there for an hour and I could visualize everything they were doing, it takes a lot of effort to open up the gums, and it's loud when work on the jaw bones etc I took it well though and I feel pretty good now after a nice nap. I'm glad that is over with!

[sean89]

Thanks for updating.

I'm glad you're okay. I had surgery under local anaesthesia once and it wasn't painful at all, but it's weird knowing they're burning your skin open.

Has there been any changes to the segments yet or is it that exacted by the braces? And how long will it take before you notice any difference?

[needadvancement]

@sean, yeah scariest part is your own imagination, I can now see how some people traumatised themselves because you tend to think about how they're slicing you open and using a lot of force and you can hear it all etc. For some reason I wasn't freaked out at all, even now when I think about it. Phew.

The change I can see at the moment is how the gums are filled with artificial bones that they placed and stitched up. Since they strategically damaged the bones of my jaws it's now a waiting game. It was stated that my teeth will be straightened in the first six weeks. 3 months total for the tissue and bones to fully fuse, and then 3 months of braces left to stabilize the new bite.


@jawbone, no I had this done in North Europe where I live. I do not know the exact costs yet(I've read that in the US this can go up to 10 to 15k dollars, not 100% sure on that though), but I was delighted to hear from my insurance that they will cover the costs of the surgery. My surgeon and ortho were kind, they showed that some of my teeth have been worn down because of the bad bite. Thankfully I'll fix this @25 before I damage them any more.

[terry947]

@ needadvancement - how are you going to fix you worn down teeth?

[needadvancement]

^Hey terry. I'm not sure what I can do at this point to reverse that kind of damage, and thankfully it hasn't got to a point where it's hurting during chewing unless I consume something cold. Atleast the good news is that soon they'll stand correctly and won't continue to wear and tear eachother down.

[notrain]

it didn't "grow back", the broken tooth just erupted more out of the jaw bone. the damaged tooth is still shorter than the other, it's just that the crowns are of the same height while the height difference is now hidden beneath your gums where you cannot see it.

[needadvancement]

Damn the middle of my face pretty swollen right now. I almost looked normal yesterday before I went to bed but then I wake up looking like a primate lol. I think that's the reason the surgeon was so adamant about taking a week off from work. Bleeding stopped and healing looks to be going well though.

[PloskoPlus]

Damn the middle of my face pretty swollen right now. I almost looked normal yesterday before I went to bed but then I wake up looking like a primate lol. I think that's the reason the surgeon was so adamant about taking a week off from work. Bleeding stopped and healing looks to be going well though.

Day 3 is peak for swelling.