Welcome friends to my
"Double Jaw Surgery & Genioplasty Journey & Recovery Tips"
Blog.
It’s actually about a
month after my double jaw surgery and genioplasty. I have finally decided that I feel ready to share my
own personal experience with others who are planning to do this surgery.
About a year ago, I had SARPE
( surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion), which to my understanding
basically was done to expand my maxilla (upper jaw), since it was incredibly
narrow.
Fast Forward to June 20,
2013- that's when I had my double jaw surgery, where both my upper and lower jaw
were moved forward to correct my overbite. I’ve had difficulty chewing food
ever since I can remember. Biting into an apple? Forget about it. Enjoying some
freshly made tadeeg (basically crunchy rice)? Not a chance!
Everything I would eat became such a pain because of my overbite. My jaw would
also make these annoying clicking noises every time I would eat or just on
random occasions, which was so annoying! I was sick of it.
Apparently, if I wouldn’t do
this jaw surgery my overbite would get worse and worse over the years. So I had
to do it! Plus, I really wanted to enjoy food with a normal bite.
So this double jaw surgery was a must for me! I also opted to
do genioplasty (chin surgery), a recommendation by my surgeon so that my jaw
and chin would be perfectly aligned, ultimately providing a better looking side
profile. My genioplasty procedure did not require any implants, but was rather
a repositioning of the bone supporting the chin.
This first post will give
you a raw account of the night before my surgery and my 4 day hospital stay
following the surgery. Everything that I share with you is by no means an
effort to scare you shitless. Excuse my French. I just want to be open and
honest with my personal experience to provide with some perspective and
preparation.
At the end of the day
though, my goal for this blog is to share recovery tips that I have researched,
discussed with holistic health practitioners and ultimately used to help with
my own ongoing healing process.
So, it's June 19, 2013, 6 pm,
my final meal before I'm stuck on a liquid diet for I don't know the next few
months?! I'm still not allowed to chew by the way and its already been a month,
but I'll get into that in my next post. I say this as the "Burger Fries
and A Coke Don't Bother Me I'm Eating ad runs through my mind... Oh, which also reminds me before your
surgery make sure to eat anything and everything you crave and surround
yourself with positive family members and friends!
For example, (I don’t know
why you would need an example for this, but I’m giving one anyway to show off
my amazing fam bam). My magnificent grandmother, Mama Flora, treated me to my
favorite fast-food Mexican Restaurant Poquito Mas two days before my surgery.
It was a lovely lunch filled with yummy food and amazing company. She’s
unfortunately been through quite a few surgeries so she was able to provide me
with some positive advice.
Anyways, back to my last
meal before surgery.
My wonderful dad comes in
with tin foil boxes of my favorite Persian food. Each of the boxes are
inundated with Chicken Kabob, Beef Koobideh, and this amazing Sour Cherry Rice
(Albalou Pollo..the Persians know what I'm talking about here). As I excitedly
fill my plate and chow down the appetizing cuisine, my stomach begins to turn
uncontrollably. All I could think of was…“Great I was planning to stuff myself
and now all I've eaten is a small piece of beef koobideh and a morsel of rice.”
I try to ignore the nauseating feeling that has erupted
within me and continue to force myself to enjoy my final meal, but after a few
more bites, I give in, gracefully excusing myself from the dinner table.
I knew exactly why I was
feeling this way. I was beyond mortified about the surgery tomorrow, but I
desperately tried to get my mind off it. I decided to distract myself with my 3
month old new puppy Shelby.
After a half hour of fetch,
I was pooped! Unfortunately though, I still couldn't wipe out the terror within
me. I suddenly found myself shaking uncontrollably and the knots in my stomach
were debilitating beyond measure.
It suddenly hit me that I
needed to visit someone. I had visited her the day before, but only for a short
time. I needed to see her one last time before the dreaded surgery.
I asked my dad to drive me
to visit my grandmother Mama Parvin. I knew I wasn't in the right state of mind
to drive myself. That's right, safety first people! He agreed and we were
off to see her.
Once I visited her I felt
rejuvenated. She helped provide me with the confidence I needed to go into the
surgery and reminded me to stay positive and strong. God Bless her! She is the
most positive and upbeat person I know. She always enjoys life to the fullest.
Despite the many obstacles and medical emergencies she has faced in her life,
she always remains optimistic and jubilant. I needed to be around that energy
once more before surgery!
When I got home, I watched a
few minutes of the The Bachelorette. Did I just admit my guilty pleasure to you
all?! Well in any case, don't judge!! Who can help themselves from watching a
love story unfold? Whether it lasts just for reality TV or a lifetime, I'm
hooked.
Anyways, I digress again! My
apologizes. So yeah, I knocked out while watching it.
I woke up at 3:45 am.
Well, not just me, my entire family (mom, dad, and twin sister) woke
up as I was advised to be at the UCLA Hospital by 5 am, with my surgery time
being at 7:00 am. I took a shower and we were off to the hospital.
We entered into the first
downstairs wing to check in and fill out some paperwork. I don’t really recall
what the paperwork was for. I just remembered I needed to sign a few documents.
The lady handing out the paperwork had a stick up her
a$$. Again pardon the French. I just can't think of any other way to
depict exactly how I felt about her. But then again though, who wants to
be working at 4 am in the morning? So, I ignored her attitude, signed the
paperwork and she directed me to sit in the waiting room.
While sitting in the waiting
room, I put my headphones in and listened to my iPod. Thankfully, my twin
sister Juliana had just refreshed my library with a slew of new songs. There
were 2 songs I had on replay, Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" and
Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams' "Get Lucky." Don't ask me why, but
those two songs just pumped me up like no other.
As I sat and jammed to my
music, I noticed a dude who looked around my age, (I'm 23 by the way) sitting a
few chairs next to me. He was staring aimlessly at the ground taping his
high-top sneakers incessantly. I quickly scanned his face. Was he here for the
same procedure as me? Did he have an overbite or underbite? Ah, who was I
kidding? What were the chances anyway? By the time I contemplated on putting my
detective hat on, a man in white medical garb called my name. I'm not sure if
he was a nurse or not, but we can just call him nurse man.
"Berenice" he
declared!
I proudly walked over as he
placed a wristband on my right hand. I honestly don't remember exactly what was
written on the wristband. I think it was my name, date of birth, age and
gender.
After putting the wristband
on, the nurse man said "Are you nervous?"
I told him "Yes
sir."
He responded "Don't
worry it will be fine" and directed me to the next floor up, where I was
greeted by another male nurse.
He took my weight and handed
me this hideous medical dress he told me I had to wear. He also gave me a cup
for a urine sample.
I was then directed
into my hospital room and sat and waited in what felt like hours upon hours,
until a nice female nurse came in and demanded that I was only allowed one
visitor to accompany me in my room. I currently had my parents and sister in
the room. My mom ended up staying, but I was somehow able to sweet talk my way
into getting the nurse to allow my dad to stay as well.
About a half hour later, the
nurse came back in and started asking me a slew of questions like: When was the
last time you drank water? When was the last time you ate something? Are you
currently on any type of medications and or supplements? Do you have any
allergies?
There was another long pause
before the next nurse came in. I stared up at the piece of paper attached to
the white board in my hospital room. On the Paper it read Berenice: Orthognathic surgery & genioplasty.
I told my parents they had
written the wrong surgery!
“What?! Are you serious?!
They both responded alarmed.
I quickly noted Yup, It’s
suppose to say “Breast Augmentation, but instead it says “orthognathic surgery and genioplasty.”
They broke into laughter. I
could tell they were tense. I wanted to make light of the situation. Lame joke,
I know, but I too was pretty shocked at my light-hearted whimsical attitude
this dreaded day.
Next thing I knew, the
anesthesiologist Dr. Miller came in and introduced himself. His professional,
yet caring demeanor pleasantly surprised me.
He too asked me when the
last time I drank water was and told me that I would be undergoing general
anesthesia similar to the SARPE surgery I had previously. He also placed these
small white stickers behind my ears to help with decreasing nausea after
surgery. By the way it seemed like these white stickers helped me because I was
not nauseated at all after surgery! Didn’t barf once!
A few minutes later, in came
my surgeon, who was trailed by a bunch of what to me appeared to be residents.
It was UCLA. They were bound to be there. I instantly recognized one of the
residents. When I saw him, I had a flashback to the day of my pre-operation
appointment. He was the one that directed the appointment. I remember him having a overly laid
back high off life demeanor, which irritated the crap out of me because I am
the total opposite of laid back. I was convinced he was a habitual pot user.
Now looking back though, I
have to admit, I am thankful for certain things he warned me about, which I
will get to later on! But ya, I surprisingly grew an appreciation for him later
on down the road.
Ok, back to the story! One
of the last things I remember before being knocked out completely was a
question I posed.
I asked the anesthesiologist, “I’m not going to die or
anything, right?!” Not sure why I blurted out that question. I was pretty
overwhelmed with the amount of physicians crowded into my small room.
The anesthesiologist replied,
“Aww of Course Not! You will be fine don’t worry!” Somehow though, I felt reassured by his gentle response.
From that point, one of the
nurses in my room pocked a needle in and I became incredibly woozy. The
anesthesia was kicking in and boom that was it. I was knocked out and don’t
remember a thing after that.
I was told the surgery took
7 hours! Yup 7! Blew my mind. When I woke up my mouth was completely closed
shut with a plethora of elastic bands. I tried opening my mouth to breath, but little
did I know that it would be impossible to do so. I was shocked. The elastics
were so tight.
I’ve been a mouth breather my entire life. I also have a
deviated septum in addition to the fact that my nose was currently completely
congested with what I was soon to notice blood! I was in panic mode! I felt
like I was suffocating. It was the most terrifying feeling of my life. I needed
help immediately.
Oh and here’s the part where
I can now reveal why I was thankful to the overly laidback resident who
directed my pre-op appointment. He did reveal to me during the appointment that
most patients who have this surgery complain that they feel like they cannot
breathe right after surgery. Thus, I was determined to prepare myself for this
moment.
Let’s rewind a bit. About a
week before my surgery, I asked to meet with my surgeon to ask him a few of my
questions. During the meeting, I discussed with him my concern about not being
able to breathe through my mouth since my mouth would be closed shut with
elastic bands.
He told me not to be
concerned. He said if at any point I felt like I could not breathe, he could
take the elastics off. I was relieved when he said that.
To make sure this would be
noted, I told the nurse who called me the day before my surgery to make sure to
write a note stating that the surgeon had said that if I felt like I could not
breathe with the elastics on, then the nurse could immediately take them off.
Now let’s fast forward to
the moment I woke up from surgery and instantly felt like I could not
breathe. When I encountered this
terrifying feeling, I figured all I needed to do was tell the nurse (via pen
and paper of course since I couldn’t talk) so that they could take the elastics
off.
Lying in the hospital bed, I
opened my eyes wider and noticed that there was a new nurse in front of me. I
would soon find out she was the nurse from hell.
I of course couldn’t speak, so I was desperately trying to
get her attention. I clapped my hands and signaled for her to get me a pen and
paper so that I could tell her that I felt like I could not breathe.
The nurse from hell looked
straight at my hand signals, but completely ignored me. What the hell was going
on? I was getting beyond frustrated. Why is she ignoring me?
The nurse from hell
apparently heard what I requested. She finally brought a pen and paper for me.
I wrote to her that I felt like I couldn’t breathe and that the surgeon had
told me the elastics could be taken off if this had happened.
She retorted that there was
no way she would take the elastics out. And a battle of words ensued.
I’m not
going to bore you with the details on this, but I basically asked her if the
surgeon could come in so that I could prove to her that he had told me prior to the surgery
that the elastics could come off if I had breathing issues..blah blah blah you get the gist.
The nurse wasn’t having any of it.
She refused to ask for the surgeon to come and instead brought one of the
residents who helped with the surgery, who also refused to take the elastics
off saying that I would relapse if the elastics would come off. Funny how she
said this when the surgeon who performed the surgery for me had personally
suggested that the elastics could come off if I felt I couldn’t breathe.
After crying outrageously,
the resident gave in, but only took one elastic off each side. If I remember
correctly there was two or three more left on each side. In any case, I did
feel like I could breath a bit better. Oh, and this was probably day 2 of my
stay. The four days I was there was a complete blur.
On a side note, I don’t want
this whole not being able to breathe thing scare any of you who are planning to
do the surgery. I think for me, personally, it was a traumatic experience
because I’ve been a mouth breather my entire life. Breathing through my nose
with a deviated septum was foreign. I was also super congested, but make sure
to use saline nose moisturizing spray, which will help clear up
congestion in your nose. I say this as I spray this in my nose at the moment.
It really helps!
Also, I should say that even though I felt like I couldn’t
breathe, I had to remind myself that there were medical professionals
surrounding me 24/7. They of course had an oxygen monitor on me and nurse after
nurse kept reiterating to me that I was breathing just fine even though I
didn’t feel like I was.
As I said before, my four
day hospital stay felt like one very loooonnng day. Everything started to
become a blur. Why a blur? Well, soon after my outburst, I was given oxycontin
for immediate pain relief and ativan to control my anxiety. Those two drugs combined
knocked me out completely. It was honestly better that way. The moments I was
awake felt like absolute hell at times. I even apparently said some nasty
things to my poor mother that I don’t even recall saying. Sorry mom!
Speaking of my mother, wow,
words cannot even begin to describe how amazing she was and continues to be
throughout this bumpy journey. Throughout my hospital stay, I had two nurses
one Asian lady who was the sweetest person ever! She told me how she was in a
terrible accident and had jaw surgery so she knew exactly what I was going
through. She was so calm and gentle with me. Oh, and also there was this
Russian male nurse who was also very accommodating, but the best nurse of all
was my mother. I would not have survived this surgery without her. She stayed
with me throughout my entire hospital stay, never leaving my side.
Every day she would rub Arnica gel, which helps with swelling
and pain ( I will write more about this on my next post) and consistently put
chapstick on my awfully chapped lips. Every time I would wake up in the middle
of the night, she was right up with me, catering to my every need. When I got
back home she nursed me back to health. Making me delicious milk shakes, smoothies
and soup! Yup, she’s the BEST!
Oh yes and I cannot forget to mention my lovely twin sister Juliana. She was amazingly supportive as well. So unbelievably kind and tender with me. I cannot thank her enough for all that she has done for me. My father too! He has been so patient, loving, and supportive as well.
My father, mother, and sister even slept on my bedroom floor for weeks after the surgery to literally be by my side in case I needed something. Yup, they are awesome!
I would definitely say that
if you can have a family member stay with you throughout your hospital stay
that would be ideal! It really helps having someone there 24/7 to get through
the slump.
Another person who really motivated
and inspired me to push through during my hospital stay was the Chief Resident.
As I’ve reiterated, my whole hospital stay became a giant blur once I was on
meds, so I only remember bits and pieces!
But, The Chief Resident was someone
who really stuck out. From the moment he stepped into my hospital room, it was
like rays of sunshine lit up my dim and drab room. Ok, yes he was easy on the eyes, but it was the speech he
gave after that really struck a chord with me. I’m thinking he came in around day
3. The first two days I was being fed via IV. By day 3, I needed to start
drinking with a syringe or slowly drink small sips from a cup. It was actually
nearly impossible to drink from a cup, so I would just stick with using a
syringe. The syringe is what saved me.
Anyways, he came in and somehow knew I was a huge Lakers fan.
I’m guessing my mother told him? He told me something to the effect of the
following, “Think that the Lakers success for next season is all dependent on
you. The more you drink either by a syringe or slowly take sips from a cup and
the more active you are by taking walks around the hospital, the better chance
the Lakers have in winning a championship next year.”
Yes, I know it was complete
lunacy, but to me it was music to my ears. It oddly enough completely motivated me. As soon as he said that, I kept reminding myself to stay hydrated and
walked around the hospital several times a day.
Alright, so one more thing!
I wasn’t really told how badly the swelling would be in your face and lips! So
don’t be alarmed! It’s normal for a procedure like this! I looked like a chubby
chipmunk and had humongous lips. I mean my lips were HUGE and so was my entire
face. It was nuts. Nevertheless, I have a bunch of recovery tips on how to deal
with swelling and what to do to decrease swelling- that will be in my next post
for recovery tips!
So just to recap:
1) Make sure to bring Arnica or
Traumeel gel ( I actually prefer Traumeel better just because it feels softer
on my face) for swelling and pain. You can buy either one at Whole Foods, Erewhon or
any health food store. Apply it regularly during your
hospital stay and continue to use it throughout your recovery process.
2) Make sure to bring Saline Nasal Spray to help with congestion. The hospital you’re at will most likely
supply you with it, but just in case you should be able to buy it at a local
drug store. I bought mine at CVS. This saved me! I was soooo congested! I
consistently used it to help with clearing up congestion.
3) Bring a notebook and
pen/pencil! You won’t be able to talk at all until the elastics are taken off. The elastics come off whenever your
surgeon feels its not needed anymore. It helps with stabilizing the new
position your jaw has moved into. The elastics usually stay on ranging from a
couple weeks to 6 weeks. You also will have a splint on your upper palate,
which also disables you from speaking audibly. The splint stays on for a few
weeks. It’s pretty annoying when you try to eat your soft blended foods because
food gets caught in it pretty easily. Once it’s off though, it becomes a lot
easier. So ya, anyway, make sure to bring that notebook! The things you will
write in the notebook will be a fun and memorable thing to look back on!
4) Another thing to be aware of
is the numbness. I began to notice pretty quickly that I was completely numb on
my lower lip and entire chin area. I was also numb on the sides of my upper lip
and weirdly enough the left side of my nostril. The numbness gets very
frustrating to deal with. I was told it takes 6 months to a year to regain full
sensation back. My surgeon even told me there is a possibility of never
receiving full sensation back in these areas. I decided early on that there was
no way I was going to wait that long! I also refused to cave into the idea of
possibly never regaining full sensation. I did a ton of research in terms of
finding ways to speed up the process of both regaining sensation back and
reducing inflammation and pain. My next post will be all about this! So don’t
fret! There are solutions to help speed up the healing process. You have to be patient with this
surgery! But there is hope!
5) Get yourself a baby
toothbrush and some mouthwash. The surgeon told me to start brushing pretty
soon after surgery. He came to visit me day 4 and told me to start brushing
regularly. Every time I drank a milk shake, or ate some soup, I would brush
right after! I was and still am super OCD about it. I don’t want any
infections! So ya, just make sure it’s a toothbrush for toddlers! There is no
way a regular sized toothbrush will work. It is too big to ever be
placed in your mouth at this point.
6) I highly recommend getting a jaw soft stretch with chin cup. It comes with 4 removable ice packs. Its the perfect way to keep your jaw area iced. During my hospital stay they created something like this for me, but when I came home, I needed something that would stay strapped on to ice my jaw. If you don't want to spend money purchasing this, you can try putting ice packs in a pillow case and place it wherever on your face you feel needs to be iced.
7) Expect Excessive Drooling especially while the splint is on. Once the splint was off the drooling subsided tremendously. Try and Embrace the drooling! I know I know drooling is not really
"socially acceptable." I ended up wasting a ton of tissue and napkins cleaning up the drool so instead I started to keep a towel handy!
8) Try as best as possible to
keep this jaw surgery process as joyful as possible. Yes, it can be incredibly
frustrating! I’m not going to lie here! I get frustrated often because I was
stunned at how long of a process it is to recover. But now, I’m working on
training myself to accept the fact that although this feels like a very long and
slow road to recovery, in the scheme of things, this process is just a small
part of an entire lifetime I have to live. Plus, I am learning a lot while on
this journey and will hopefully offer all of you with beneficial tips to
survive the journey.
If you have any questions
feel free to post your questions in the comments section under this post or you
can e-mail me at berafam@gmail.com!
