Today was my pre-op appointment. First we met with my primary surgeon and the chief resident who will be assisting. This was nice considering I had only spoken with my actual surgeon for about five minutes at my other appointment, and had met with a completely different resident. But they were very helpful answering the few questions that I was still concerned about. So the surgeon went over the surgery and other details, then the resident took pictures, measurements, and molds. To give you an idea about my case, my overjet is 10mm (ah!). I'm the first on the list for Friday, so he said he would like me to be in the operating room by 8am. I'll try and bullet a few more highlights from the appointment:
-I will be having a BSSO. They say it is very unlikely that they will have to do a genioplasty which is good because I would much rather not have the additional breaks (more swelling, more risk for nerve damage, etc).
-Titanium alloy screws and possible plates. I asked if I would have to get those removed if I ever needed an MRI later and she said that those would not interfere with that.
-If the break is clean and they like the way my bite looks (stable) then they may remove the splint before I even wake up. This really surprised me because the first resident I had met with told me that I would definitely be in the splint for 4weeks (+). I think this is a good thing, right? It seems like everyone hates that thing and are relieved to have it off.
-They said it is not necessary to donate my own blood (in case there is need for a transfusion) for this procedure because I should not lose enough blood to need one.
After my visit with the surgeons, they directed me to the pre-surgical department where I met with a nurse practitioner who reiterated the do's and dont's for before surgery:
-no eating after midnight
-don't shave the day before... I think this is kinda iffy; it came from a not-so-with-it older RN. Apparently you can cut yourself and get an infection... but you can cut yourself and get an infection 2 days before surgery also, so I'm not sure why that matters. But maybe I'm wrong.
-call the night before for my surgery time
They took my vitals and then I was all done.
Those are the main points I remember, but I'm sure there are some that I'm forgetting. If so, I'll update later. In 4 days from right now, I'll be in the recovery room! My mother or sister will hopefully be posting some sort of update while I'm in the hospital. I'm also going to post "before pictures" at some point prior to surgery. Thank you everyone for your support! It really does help, and I know I'm just preaching to the choir. Good luck to everyone, especially to Heather this week!!!
I will be updating at least once more before surgery. Only 3 normal days left!
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10 comments:
Not being splinted sounds like a dream...will hope that this works out for you ~comeON clean break! That is one impressive overjet, indeed! Glad to hear you felt good about your OS pow-wow. Gotta feel good having the confidence of being heard and having questions answered to put your brain at rest.
Can't wait to hear that it's over and was a blazing success. Good luck! :)
I'm so happy that your appointment went well. I just think that makes you feel so much more at ease! My doctor also mentioned something similar about the splint, lets keep our fingers crossed!!
Good luck with everything and tell your family, thank you in advance for keeping us posted!!
Ahhhh...are you excited yet?!? Me? I'm scared s**tless! Lol, hope your surgery goes well on Friday...see you on the other side and good luck.
Leah - My surgery was almost 10 weeks ago (March 6). That seems like so long ago! I have been so pleased with everything!! I wasn't splinted so I don't have much to compare it to. I'm a dental hygienist so I was pleased with that because it meant I could brush fairly easily. Honestly, I had about 3 days of major swelling and by the 5-6th day I was taking regular tylenol and ibuprofen. DO NOT hesitate to email me any questions or concerns. I'll add you as a surgery companion and keep checking your blog.
You'll do great!! It's totally worth it!
Leah, only a few more days to go! So excited for you and happy that you had a good appointment. =)
I am cheering you on down here in Carolina. :) Your post was informative and cheerful. So glad to hear you're feeling upbeat about the surgery. I cannot wait to see your results!
Good luck with your surgery in a few days! Hope everything goes smoothly and painless-ly! :)
Just thinking of you and wanted to wish you well. I'm sure everything will go smoothly. One more day and you'll finally be on the "other side", lucky you!!
Good luck and we look forward to hearing all the details!
Leah! Your surgery is tomorrow! I'm so excited for you!!! Hope to see a post from you tonight... if not, good luck!
Not to sound like a Hallmark card, but will be thinking of you lots over the next few days, and especially tomrrow as you head in bright and early.*hug* No more waiting!
Hope you get a good sleep and will be talking to you soon :)
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