Nastassja Thompson: jaw surgery

Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 6 Month Update

It's been just over half a year since my surgery, can you actually believe it? Insane.

To be honest with you there is not a lot of things I can update you with but what I can tell you is that I am so happy with the results and will never regret the decision I made to have the surgery done.

Brace Free!

Firstly and most importantly I am finally brace free after 11 years of retainers, train tracks and surgeries. I've had my braces off for about a month now which is the most amazing feeling but also some what unexpected. I went for what I thought was a check-up to come back with fresh and free teeth. I'm now planning to go through a series of teeth whitening treatments as I feel that after suffering for 11 years of braces my teeth deserve to look the best they possibly can.

Swelling and Numbness:

I was looking at my face this morning and I hadn't even realised that all the swelling is mostly gone. I do have the odd day when the swelling balloons up due to stress or tiredness but I think that is just part of the recovery. As I mentioned last time any numbness has completely gone and I have full feeling in all parts of my face which is amazing and I'm so thankful for. I know this surgery has become increasingly more common but that however doesn't mean that this risk of life numbness decreases and to know that I have made a full recovery makes me so proud.

Eating & drinking:

Now I am brace free I can literally eat whatever takes my fancy. I don't have any problems chewing tough meat now and I have been crunching into several juicy apples on my lunch breaks. Who knew eating an apple could be so satisfying.

Stretching & pain:

I can once again fit my whole fist in my mouth (channelling my inner Karen Smith) meaning that my mouth stretching is at its peak. Any pain is non-existent and I really do feel great.

I'm medical terms after six months you are deemed as fully recovered and I honestly can say that I do feel recovered and better than ever. I cannot praise the work off the amazing surgeons and now I no longer have to wear train tracks this incredible journey is at an end and I feel so honoured to have been able to share it with you all, so thank you.

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, by Unknown

jaw surgery

Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 3 Month Update

Here we are at recovery month three and wow it has been one hell of a journey so far. This post however won't be the longest, as quite frankly there's nothing much to talk about since my last update apart from a few minor changes. For anybody that is behind on my recovery you can view my last two blogposts here:

1. My Brace and Underbite Jaw Surgery Experience : Pre and Post Op.

2. Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 2 Month Update

So, let's begin...

Swelling and Numbness:

More swelling has gone down since my last post and I would say that there is about 10% swelling left in the cheek area which makes my eyes look slightly sunken in but maybe that is just my general appearance. As I have previously mentioned swelling can last up to 6 months post surgery so there is absolutely no need to panic if you still have areas of swelling. I personally am used to my chubby cheeks now and might actually miss them! In terms of numbness I have absolute none which is amazing beyond belief and I am so grateful to have a normal feeling face again.

Eating & drinking:

I was allowed to resume a chewing diet 6 weeks post op and since then food has become like some sort of god to me. Life is now an all you can eat buffet and any weight that I lost during those 6 liquid diet weeks is now straight back onto my legs and behind - oops!

Stretching & pain:

Stretching my mouth open further than the width of two fingers was an impossible task for me until around the 8 week recovery mark. Although I haven't actually ever performed any of the suggested mouth stretching exercises my mouth can now stretch up to 4 fingers wide, which is a little scary but I always did have a big mouth.

Any pain is non-existent although their is the odd day when my mouth can feel a bit strained from a long session of talking or facial movement. At three months post op your bones are almost 100% healed meaning that any pain should be next to nothing unless their is infection which is highly unlikely. Something odd that I recently noticed is that if I press against the sides of my nose I can actually feel the metal implants in my face which did freak me out at first, but again it is completely normal.

Teeth & bite:

Finally, I must say that my teeth, bite, facial features, hormones and pretty much everything else is mostly normal and I am feeling bloody fantastic. My self esteem is at a high and I honestly would recommend this surgery to anybody. It has changed my life for the better and I am so grateful to no longer have an underbite. So thank you Kings College Hospital, Mr Hodges, Mr Young and all the orthodontic and surgical team that have looked after me during my recovery. Now I'm just hoping to get my braces off in the next few months and to finally be free.

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, by Unknown

jaw surgery

Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 2 Month Update

(Left and Middle: Current Face Right: Day of Surgery)

Although a slightly generic comment can I just start off with saying I cannot believe how fast these past two months have gone. I am feeling extremely happy and can't wait to let you all know how I have been getting on and as there is quite a lot of things I would like to talk about I think I am just going to jump right into it!

Firstly, if you you have no idea what I am going on about you should take a look at my previous blog post (Underbite Jaw Surgery Pre & Post Op) which will give you an insight to my operation and the first 5 weeks post surgery. I had such a good response from my blog post and it brings me great joy to see that I have inspired and informed so many others of this procedure.

Swelling and Numbness: Looking at these photographs as a comparison it is clear to see that about 80% of my swelling has completely disappeared which is absolutely fantastic! My face shape is starting to become more defined and my lips no longer look like I'm trying to beat Pete Burns in a lip plumping competition. However, I am still rocking the chubby cheek look especially in my right cheek which is noticeably more swollen than the left side. To be honest I'm not too sure why that is but after reading other peoples experiences it is very common so I'm not really that bothered!

In terms of numbness I have found that some feeling has begun to return in my top lip which honestly is the best sensation in the world. I wouldn't say it was at its full potential yet but there is hope that my nerves love me and that they think I deserve to feel again. Apart from the numbness in my lip I would say that feeling is back in every other area of my face which again makes me realise that I am on the way to being 100% recovered. It also makes me ever so grateful for my amazing surgeons work.

Eating & drinking: I've finally past the 6 week stretch meaning that I am able to chew again and of course I have been taking full advance of my new chewing powers by eating pretty much anything that takes my fancy. However, I do still have some diet limitations meaning that apples, tough meat and that cheese burger is still a no-go but I'm enjoying having a wider food variety to choose from.

Stretching & pain: After surgery trying to stretch your jaw is extremely painful and for weeks I was only able to fit 1 - 2 fingers in my mouth. However, since moving back onto a solid food diet my jaw seems to have naturally adjusted to opening wider meaning I can now fit up to the width of 3 fingers in my mouth. Any pain is pretty much next to nothing although I find that I do get jaw ache after long hours of speaking as well as the scar at the roof of my upper gums becoming slightly sore at times, but it takes 3 - 6 months to be fully recovered so again I'm not in a rush to feel 100% normal.

Teeth & bite: My teeth and bite are looking absolutely amazing and recently the dentists have been telling me that I will be ready to have my brace removed soon which is very exciting! Although dentists can often over exaggerate sometimes so I'm not going to get my hopes up too much. Smiling still looks a bit false because my upper lip is stiff but I'm sure that will loosen as my swelling continues to decrease.

Overall at 2 months post-op I am feeling extremely happy with my progress both visually and mentally. To summarise my progress I would say that:

My skin has cleared up a lot with any oily areas finally calming down.
My hormones have settled meaning no more depressing breakdowns.
I can eat most solid food at last!!!!
The swelling has deduced leaving only my cheeks with 20% swelling.
Most of my feeling in my face has returned leaving minimal if any numbness.

Documenting this journey so far has been really enjoyable and I can't wait to continue to keep you all updated. If anybody has any questions please feel free to message me.

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, by Unknown

experience

My Brace and Underbite Jaw Surgery Experience : Pre and Post Op.

I'm sitting here at my computer and it just hit me that I am on day 39 of my recovery. No I am not a recovering alcoholic or drug addict. I am a recovering patient that for the last 22 years suffered with abnormal teeth and an underbite and although I am only just under halfway through my recovery the concept of not having an underbite anymore fascinates me. I want to share my experience to anybody that is interested whether you be going through the same situation or not.

Pre Operation

Like the large majority of people these days I was unfortunate to develop wonky adult teeth that had gaps and twists in all sorts of places. At age 11 I was taken to the Beautiful Smiles orthodontic clinic and was fitted with my first pink glitter retainer. It is now 11 years later and I have gone through two operations to attach gold chains to my teeth in order to bring them into position, 4 different types of retainer and one set of fixed braces (train tracks) that have more than likely had every type of funky elastic or wire attached to them to finally attempt to straighten out my stubborn teeth. I originally suffered with only a small underbite and crossbite which was enlarged during the run up to my surgery to help to achieve the perfect symmetry to my face once operated. I wore underbite enhancing elastics for about 9 - 10 months before I was told my teeth were finally ready for surgery (a surgery which was spoke about for 3 - 4 years before it actually happened). Living with an underbite is probably one of the most self esteem draining things I have been through, I absolutely hated the way I looked in person and would avoid having my photograph taken at most opportunities. Oh and my top lip pretty much didn't exist which made my whole face look sunken in. But to be honest with you it wasn't just the vanity side of a underbite that was draining I couldn't even bite into a sandwich without struggle, chewing was an absolute mission and it made me feel abnormal in comparison to all of my friends.

My Mum received a phone call around May time confirming the date of my operation to be October 6th 2014 and obviously she accepted without any hesitation. From then it was the countdown and mental preparation for one of the most important days in my life and it came around quicker then I ever could have imagined.

Monday 6th October 2014 - The Operation Day

My operation was held at Kings College Hospital in Denmark Hill, London. We were told to arrive at the hospital for 6:30am as the surgery list isn't organised until the day of the operation. Getting up a 4:00am wasn't the most fun experience especially when you're not allowed to eat on the day of the operation and sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours until you get given your hospital bed when you feel weak was even worse. I finally got settled into my bed around 9:00am and was told that I would be the first to be operated on in the afternoon surgery list, this again meant hours of waiting around with my nerves creeping up higher and higher. At 12:30pm I was told to get into my surgical gown and stockings and before I even blinked I was suddenly being wheeled down to the anaesthesia room leaving my dear Mum and boyfriend Jack waiting anxiously behind. Being pushed down to the anaesthesia room I was crying and shaking like an absolute baby the poor nurse felt so sorry for me, yet I just felt embarrassed. Before being taken into the anaesthesia room you are put into a pre assessment room where four different sets of people make you repeat the same mundane questions over and over again just to make sure that you are the correct patient receiving the correct treatment. Then they push you into the anaesthesia room in which there must have been about twelve different people just staring at you, asking you questions and prepping you for surgery. I'm not sure if its the same for every patient but in my case they put this numbing spray into my nose that I had to sniff up at every squirt, it was honestly the most vile thing I've ever tasted. Then all I can really remember is feeling the aesthetic move up my veins and up into my head then I was gone... I woke up hearing voices in recovery like any patient having surgery would and to be honest I don't remember a great deal as I was high as a kite on morphine which was provided to kill the pain, but what I can remember is having this plastic blanket covering me that hot air was being pumped into to keep me warm.

The next thing I know I was being taken back to the ward with my Mum and Jack waiting for my return. I was apparently away from the ward for just over 5 hours! The surgery being 2 and a half hours and the rest of the time spent in recovery. My nose was bleeding pretty heavily so the nurses attached a gauze to help to control the blood flow. I had just the upper jaw moved to correct my underbite and crossbite but because upper jaw surgery cuts through the sinuses this leads them to fill up with blood which is the cause of the continuing nose bleeds. I was only in the ward for about 15 minutes before I started to feel odd. I began to heat up into a sweaty hot flush and found it extremely difficult to breathe as this rash began to appear on my chest. My Mum alerted the nurses straight away and my blood pressure was taken which showed that my blood pressure had dropped rapidly and there was speculation of a possible morphine reaction. I was put onto what I believe was an IV. drip and given steroids to provide fluids to increase my rapidly dropping blood pressure.

Once I had finally settled I was keen to have a drink as I hadn't had any fluids in almost 9 hours and was dying of thirst which could clearly be seen with my low blood pressure. I was provided with apple juice and a straw but obviously couldn't use the straw so my lovely boyfriend fed me apple juice with a syringe. My Mum and boyfriend left around 9pm and I just fell asleep for the rest of the evening.

Post Operation - Recovery

Week 1:

After a long second day at the hospital I was finally allowed home at around 9pm and this is where the real recovery began. The first 2 - 4 days were the worst, the swelling reached it's peak and I could just about breathe through my swollen lips. I was tired, emotional, sore my nose would not stop bleeding and kept thinking about cheese burgers (the cheese burger I still can't eat yet!) I spent the first two days in bed drinking warm soup and apple juice from a special hospital cup and took all my medicine through a syringe. I was taking liquid paracetamol (twice a day), ibuprofen (twice a day) and prescription antibiotics (3 times a day). My face was completely numb from under my eyelids to my top lip. It was a tough week both mentally and physically but knowing that the worst was over really helped me to push through.

Week 2:

Week 2 was my lowest week in terms of self esteem. As if having a face that made me look like a Who from the Grinch wasn't enough to deal with my skin erupted in spots and was so oily that you could fry an egg on it. I was tired, erratic and cried into my soup one too many times. I didn't want to get out of bed and could happily just lay in a dark room all day feeling sorry for myself. It was tough. However, aside from the self esteem issues my pain was next to nothing and I was coping without any painkillers at all. I went out for my first trip that week which was not a visit to the hospital for a check up but a nice evening stroll around the block with my boyfriend to boost my confidence which was the only thing that helped with the way I was feeling - low. Another improvement in my health that week was that my nose finally stopped bleeding and began to unblock more making it easier to breathe. I must admit pulling giant blood clot boogers out of your nose with a cotton bud to clear the air passage isn't the most fun thing to experience but reaching the end of week 2 felt like a giant milestone to this long recovery process.

Week 3 - Week 4:

During week 3 and 4 the recovery felt pretty much the same although my swelling finally began to decrease step by step and I moved onto eating soft foods such as macaroni cheese and mash potato (which may I add was the best meal I've had in my life!) I was very rollercoaster emotion wise feeling positive and happy one minute and then in floods of tears the next, but to be honest I was and still am recovering from major surgery and sometimes you forget these things. In terms of numbness I had gained most feeling back in all areas of my face apart from my top lip, tip of my nose and the area of skin between my top lip and nose. It can take up to 6 months to gain full feeling in your face so that is not of great concern to me. During week 3 and 4 my skin continued to get worse and more oily especially around my nose area, but I was again assured that this is all common so I tried my best to ignore it. Overall, my energy had begun to improve and I was feeling stronger and stronger everyday.

Week 5:

I am just over halfway through week 5. I finally felt ready enough to go back to work this week but am only doing short shifts as I am terrified of not having enough energy as I am still only eating soft food (pasta, mash potato, fish). I would say the swelling is still 20% there in my cheek area as the muscle tissue feels hard. I have numbness in the tip of my nose and top lip area although I have been experiencing a some tingling sensations which is always a good sign that there is feeling coming back. My skin has cleared up a lot and the super greasy skin seems to have calmed down which makes me very happy. Talking is easy but restricted due to the three different elastics that I need to have in place at all times, but that isn't a major problem. I am sick to death of pasta even more than soup but next week is the 6 week mark so I hope that means I can eat that god damn burger at last but I don't want to push my luck or break my face!

Overall, sitting here and reviewing everything I realise that I am extremely happy with my progress and look forward to seeing the final result. I am keen to update further as my recovery moves forward and can't thank the nurses, my dentists and the surgeons enough. They have changed my life and to be honest I feel like a completely different person.

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, by Unknown

Pages

Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 6 Month Update

Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 3 Month Update

Underbite Jaw Surgery: The 2 Month Update

My Brace and Underbite Jaw Surgery Experience : Pre and Post Op.

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