Day 3: There's no place like home

Sunday - three days after surgery and I was ready to go home.  In fact not only was I ready to go home, but I just had to get out of that hospital.  The food was bland, the bed was uncomfortable and I was completely bored!  I must have seen the same daytime TV shows over and over again and while I had brought my laptop, I had left my hard drive at home with all of my movies.  On a positive note though, I can now tell you everything about personal blenders, carpet cleaners and frying pans made from stone.

Luckily for me, the checkout process is just as fast as the check-in.  The nurse came and removed the valve from my hand and I removed (rather painfully) all of the sticky pads from my chest.  I packed (how did I end up with so much stuff) and waited for some friends to come by and pick me up.  I had time for a couple of selfies before I was collecting my drugs and on my way home.

As you can see my face is still very swollen but I am starting to talk clearer as each day passes.  I still have a lot of numbness all over the lower part of my face and this is to be expected for a number of weeks.

Finally I was back in my own apartment and it felt good!  I made a smoothie before sleeping on and off for the remainder of the day.

Various pre-op appointments - only days to go!

Over the last month I've had a number of appointments in preparation for my surgery which is now just a couple of days away - so here's a quick update.

On September 17th (one month prior to surgery) I had a pre-op appointment with my maxillofacial surgeon.  It was quite a lengthy appointment which I was glad of as it gave me a chance to ask lots of questions and generally be put at ease.  We discussed the surgical plan and what he hopes to achieve before he took some moulds/impressions (to make the surgical models and splints), 360 degree x-rays and plenty of photographs.  He also took various measurements of my jaw and profile and explained what I should expect during my stay in hospital - which will involve waking up from surgery with a gastric tube and (I'm cringing while writing this) a catheter.  Eek!

A couple of days later I had a telephone call from my anaesthesiologist who introduced himself and had a chat with me about how they would be taking care of me.  He again re-iterated that I will have a gastric tube and a catheter when I wake up from surgery.  The thought of a gastric tube didn't actually bother me until just now as I have realised what it actually is.  I thought it was a tube which goes down the throat to the stomach to deliver food.  Nope.  It is a tube which is inserted through the abdomen and into the stomach.  For some reason that bothers me a lot more than a tube down the throat.  Of course all I need to do to forget the gastric tube is think of the catheter.  Double eek!

Then on October 10th I had a pre-admission appointment at the Prince of Wales Private Hospital where they took my blood pressure, did an ECG, took some blood (in case I need a transfusion) and gave me information about the big day.  On October 16th I will be checking into the hospital at 6am and can expect my surgery to start around 8am.  As it is a 5-6 hour surgery, it will be the only one my surgeon performs that day.  Then after a night in intensive care, I will be transferred to a ward where I will most likely stay for 2-3 days.

Finally today I had a pre-op check with my orthodontist who also placed several surgical hooks into my mouth.  These are small metal hooks which are crimped around the wire of my braces.  They are used during surgery to help my surgeon move my jaw around once the bone has been cut.  In the photo below you can see one of them between my front teeth.

So that's it!  No more appointments now, just a count-down to the main event.  I must admit that I am feeling very excited, scared, positive and apprehensive all at the same time.  While I'm not too concerned about the surgery or the pain, I am nervous about the end result and hope that after all of this time and effort I will finally be happy with what I see in the mirror.

And on that very deep note I shall finish this post and will write another update soon.

I have a date for my double jaw surgery!

I'm very excited to report that I am now booked in for my orthognathic (double jaw) surgery on October 16th.  This surgery will be the most major and invasive part of my treatment plan and involves a number of medical procedures.  It also means that I am nearing the end of my journey, although I will still have to wear braces for up to six months after surgery.  I'm going to throw around some medical terms here, so I will do my best to explain what everything means.

Preparation for surgery
I have a pre-op appointment in mid-September.  At this time my maxillofacial surgeon will take x-rays, moulds and from there make my splints and build the final surgical plan.  It will also give me the chance to ask lots of questions and make sure we agree on the outcomes.

The surgery
Orthognathic surgery is a very general term, the definition of which is 'surgery to correct conditions or abnormalities of the jaw and face'.  More specifically, my orthognathic surgery will involve:

• LeFort I maxillary osteotomy (upper jaw) and Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy or BSSO (lower jaw) - That's literally quite a mouthful, but in layman's terms they will remove sections of bone from my upper jaw (maxillary) and lower jaw (mandibular).  This will take my upper jaw upwards (to remove my gummy smile) and backwards (to finish correcting my overbite) while at the same time correcting the skewed angle at which my upper jaw has grown.  My lower jaw will be split and extended forwards, creating a stronger, more balanced profile.
• Genioplasty - also known as chin augmentation.  A surgical implant will be used to alter the shape of my chin.  This in conjunction with the double jaw surgery assists in creating a balanced profile.
• Turbinectomy - a procedure in which some or all of the turbinate bones attached to mucous membranes in the nasal passage are removed.  This is used to relieve nasal obstruction.
• Septoplasty - a corrective procedure to straighten the nasal septum.

At the moment it is estimated that my surgery will take around six hours to perform and will involve a three day stay in hospital with the first night being in a high-dependancy unit.  Here is a YouTube video (don't worry just an animation) which gives you an idea of what the osteotomy part of the surgery will look like:

Recovery time

I will need to spend the first couple of weeks at home resting and will have several weeks of swelling and bruising.  I'll also be on a liquid and soft food diet for at least six weeks, so hopefully I will lose a bit of weight at the same time!

Results
So what will this mean for my face?  Well I'm not going to come out of the other end looking like Joan Rivers or a contestant from Extreme Makeover that's for sure.  And despite the suggestions of my friends, I've opted not to have a breast enlargement "because you may as well while you're there"!  What I should end up with is a squarer jaw line, no overbite, a stronger chin, a straighter septum, a balanced profile and of course teeth that all meet and a better functioning jaw.   Hopefully I will just look like a normal guy.

I must admit that while I make jokes and say that I'm fine with everything, I'm actually starting to get very nervous.  I'm not so worried about the pain or the healing as I know I can handle that, but I hope that the end results will make this whole journey worth it.  I hope that I will be able to look into the mirror and finally like what I see.

So that's my big news!  Keep posted for more updates in the lead up to my surgery.  I also plan to blog from my hospital bed so you'll be with me every step of the way!