Pre-Op Appointment

Last Friday I had my pre-op appointment with the surgeon. The orthodontists had implied that the surgeon might still decide that my mouth wasn't ready for surgery, but the surgeon said it was definitely a go--it wasn't even a question for him. So the surgery is on! The only thing that could derail it now is if I were to get sick. The last day or two I started to feel a bit iffy, so I slept extra and took loads of vitamins and today I'm feeling better. C'mon body, just a few more days!

At the appointment we did a number of things:

• took two molds of the upper and lower jaws
• did measurements with the face bow
• took x-rays from all sides
• took pictures from all sides (including one where I put a stick in my mouth, in case my jaw was slanted)
• got a prescription for steroids to take the night before
• answered all my questions
• got blood drawn (hematocrit and hemoglobin)

The surgeon doesn't think any of the alternative medicines for pain would really work. He also says most people get by with ibuprofen and Tylenol. So my current plan is to do what I can to not take any stronger medications after I'm home. He says it's a pump-n-dump situation for 24 hours after taking anything stronger. I'm not happy about this. We'll have to see how it goes.

They are not going to be doing huge changes to my jaws--maybe 5 mm at most in any one direction.

He says right from the start I'm going to be on a 'no chew' diet, and this will last 4-6 weeks. He says there's no restriction on using a straw. I probably won't have to use a splint, either. So it sounds like if I'm able I'll be able to eat a wide variety of things rather quickly.

On Monday I went to get my surgical hooks put in. My orthodontists have their main office in a town that's 25 miles away, and each week they come to my town as a satellite office. The disadvantages of this model became apparent as they discovered that they did not have enough surgical hooks to completely wire me up. Oops! So the end result is I'm going to stop by their main office after an unrelated appointment in the Big City (an hour away), and one of the orthodontists is going to come in special to put the surgical hooks on. I feel a bit bad about making her come in on an off day, but it's not my fault they were out of hooks!