<p>I'm starting a thread about this because I am hopeful some parent here, as many are bright, knows about this and can allay my fears. Son will need jaw surgery next June. He is starting intensive othodontic treatment to prepare for it next month. He wore braces 7-13 and now his jaw, it started at 16 but now he is 18, is growing down, not out and there are major problems with his teeeth and bite brewing. Has anyone had it or his child have it? The pallate will be split in 3 pieces and a plate will be inserted. There have been excellent results. He has to sellect a college near home, like not across the country, so he can come home ever few weeks for treatment.Would really like to hear for any parent who has heard about this or been through it. I know I should go on some health board but has anyone here had to deal with this?I feel more comfortable here.</p>
<p>It is not very comforting no one has heard of this.</p>
<p>Just last week, our PTA rep talked about having the same thing done and that her brother had it done as well. It ran in her family. I don't know anything more, but she said her brother didn't experience much difficulty with the process and she did. But it was years ago and she is fine. It had to do with bite. Hope that helps somewhat.</p>
<p>my friends son, now 2nd year uni had this done about 18 months ago......I do not know if it was the same procedure, but it involved the jaw/teeth/palate/nose etc and was pretty major and was $$$$$$$. He is attending uni over 1000 miles from home and the surgical specialist was 500 miles the other direction. I know his orthadontia was affected, but do you ahve any specific questions....I don't think my friend does forums, but I could aks her for more info.</p>
<p>One of my friends had jaw surgery two or three years ago. I don't know if it was the same surgery or not (I wasn't that good of friends with him at the time).. I just know that he said he was in bed a lot, and it took awhile to recover from. BUT 2-3 months later he was singing in his band again (Lead singer)..</p>
<p>How did he look after? Was his looks affected?</p>
<p>I don't think the surgery that I was told to get is similar to your sons, but I have TMJ problems from clenching and my doctor proposed that I get this surgery to reset my jaw. I was told that with the severity of my problems, the surgery isn't always sucessful so I opted no to even try with it. My jaw isn't that bad most of the time and I didn't want to risk making it worse. </p>
<p>good luck and I hope you are able to get some more opinions/experiences.</p>
<p>Backhandgrip, my sister had surgery similar to what you are talking about. It was very successful and, yes, her appearance was altered...for the better. Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>Backhandgrip,
My son read your post and ask me to come on board using his screenname to give you some answer.
What your son is going to have is orthognathic surgery. We essentially break the upper and/or lower jaw to a pre-determined pattern, trim off the needed amout if it's too big or extend it with either grafting or simply reattach it in a fashion that will create the needed length. Then we reattach everything with pins and plate. The result should be quite good but not 100% accurate to the mm. Your son might need addition orthodontic treatment to finalize the bite. It is for the orthodontic treatment that he may have to stay close to your orthodontist. Even though it might take up to one additional year of ortho treatment to finalize everything, combining proper timing with good pre-op preperatory ortho-treatment and accurate surgery, you should be able to do most of the frequent post-op visits and get them out of the way before your son goes to college. I would certainly talk to your doctors about your concerns of the timing issue and the possibility of any relapse. You should always know all about the risks and benefits before you give your informed consent to treatment. If your son has a "die-for" school that he wants to go, I wouldn't give it up because of the surgery. You and your doctors can plan around it.
Good luck to your son for both the surgery and his college quest.</p>
<p>R.H.D.M.D.</p>
<p>backhand:</p>
<p>my nephew had jaw surgery last year at age 20; his colorful description was that the doc had to "break it to fix it." He did have a palate stretcher, and things worked out fine. He scheduled surgery around school break, and saw his orthodontist during holidays. But, his school was only ~3 hours from home.</p>
<p>Don't forget that many colleges have great dental schools nearby, so, even if he was far away, he could get treatment in an emergency. But, definitely share your conerns with your med/dental practitioner(s). This won't be the first time that they've had patients who go away to college.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>BHG, D goes under the knife (saw?) Spring Break. Upper and lower jaw. Two complete cuts on each. Top out, bottom in. Heavy tensile strength braces are on now in preparation for the cutting. We have been preparing mentally for 4 years but D admits to being scared. Her bite has been horrible since a monster growth spurt in 7th grade. Not just an underbite, but a warped underbite. She is so much looking forward to the outcome. She wants a pretty ,toothy smile, rather than having to consciously camoflauge the defect by lip placement and photo angle. She is a pretty girl now. I expect her confidence socially (which ain't shabby now) to grow exponentially for a few months. She has met 3 girls who have undergone the procedure . All three did wonderfully. One said her wisdom teeth extraction was more painful than the surgery. That made D very happy. We'll be a few months ahead. Remind me about the middle of March and I'll post surgical progress notes.</p>
<p>My daughter (16) will be having similar surgery early next summer - upper and lower jaw with the possibility of having to have some permanent artificial implants put in. </p>
<p>We discovered when she was 10 that she has a severe jaw malformation (according to the oral surgeon, one of the worst he's ever seen). The hinges holding her jaw together are almost non-existent and her bottom jaw does not have the proper curve in it. As a result, she can not close her mouth fully, eat properly (especially hard and chewy foods) and has pretty severe pain most of the time. </p>
<p>She's been in braces since age 11 but they have done all they can that way. SHe has also been seeing a special therapist for the past several years who has worked with her to strengthen her tongue and jaw in preparation for the surgery. She's not happy about the way her appearance will change from the surgery (the oral-surgeon has done some computer generated models to show her what she will look like - ask the oral surgeon you are using to do the same. We (her parents) thought she looked beautiful but kids this age hate any change to their appearance ) but she is happy that she will finally be free of the associated problems. We are planning the surgery over the summer, not during spring break because the oral surgeon suggested that would give her more time to adjust to her new appearance. He did say that most people will not notice the difference or be able to pinpoint what has changed because they tend to forget what you look like in between seeing you. </p>
<p>She has a teacher who was told to have this surgery as a teen who never did who has told her that she regrets not doing it because the problems have only grown worse with age. </p>
<p>It is very nerve-wracking to think about for all of us, especially the thought of her being in the hospital for up to a week according to the surgeon. But she really needs to have this done. It is a relief to know that others are facing similar surgery -- thanks Curmudgeon in particular for your comments. (Seeing as how her wisdom teeth extraction last month was a near disaster, hopefully it can't be worse!) One other question - has anyone had any trouble getting insurance to cover this type of surgery? We are in the process of arguing with our insurance company.</p>
<p>Carolyn, we have Dental Insurance that would pay 50% only but our Medical will pay 80% with a maximum co-pay of $1500. It is invasive surgery, below the gum ,for mal-occlusion (I think that is right,help!) which causes TMJ, eating problems,etc,etc,etc. Health , not cosmetic. I'm sure based on the symptoms you describe, your doc will be able to write a satisfactory explanatory letter. (Our health insurance paid for wisdom extraction also.) Every policy is different. Your policy provisions will control. I certainly would get an early pre-cert in and get it denied so you have time to employ all remedies you may have at your disposal. Good Luck.BTW chin implants, cheek?They mentioned something to D once. Then never again. I'll ask. And our oral surgeon , who did all the girls with good results mentioned above, said only that she'd be O.K. for school in a week. Could start shooting baskets, but couldn't play ball for at least 4 weeks.That will be her "extended SAT and ACT Preparation time. D responded "Oh ,yeah, Dad I'm sure I'll feel like studying."</p>
<p>Curmudgeon - I got your PM but your mailbox is full. Thanks for the advice - I'll print it out for my husband to use in battling the insurance company. We don't have dental. Our medical ins. co. so far keeps saying this is "elective" surgery. Sure, the kid can't even eat an apple without crying in pain! The implants she may need are in the chin and also some sort of prothesis to connect the jaw hinges which are basically non-existent at this point (makes for some interesting mornings when she wakes up yawning and can't reclose her mouth!). We're hoping that it won't come to that and that the surgery alone will do the trick. The other thing he mentioned was the possibility of external screws that she would have to tighten to lengthen the jaw. We told him no to that - just want to make things as simple as possible for her. (And of course all she could think of when she heard that was Frakenstein!)</p>
<p>BHG - I know nothing about the specific surgery you describe. By I am involved in a group that travels to central america several times a year to do cleft palate surgery. I have been on several trips and been amazed at how well the kids do. Good luck with your son!</p>
<p>btw - I also agree with the posters who have said that you should not make your son's college plans around this surgery without discussing it with the surgeon and orthodontist. There may be more flexability in the follow-up than you are assuming.</p>
<p>Ouch, ouch, ouch! That sounds so painful. My heart goes out to all you guys....</p>
<p>thanks cheers!
Curmungeon and Carolyn; Very very interested to find folks in a similar position.PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES. We have just become aware of all of this and it is overwhelming in the beginning as the description seems scary and all I'm thinking is maybe the othdontist can straghten it without the surgery, then you come to the realization it has to be done. I made the mistake of first looking it up on the web and found that book- the one where the guy gives his blow by blow account of the entire surgery, recovery, he had a rough time. That sent me ballistic and resulted in this post early today. (and another rather strange one concerning c.c. in general- not myself here!) I was feeling very sorry . Now I have spoken to someone who had the surgery and her recovery was so easy and fast she wanted to go to work the next day. My son 's will be a little more complicated.What if this takes 6 weeks to recover! And read they should give blood in advance in case it is needed. Also, it's a long operation. </p>
<p>Like you, I'm concerned. Son is thin. Doctor isn't sure but both jaws may have to be done. How can I bulk this kid up? He's such a picky eater! Are the othodontics in preparation painful? Are you also going to try to bulk up you child in preparation for this? Is the titanium plate metal?- like does it get cold fast if you drink something cold or sensitive? So you have see computer models of the results? Is anyone considering facial implants? I heard some people have elective cosmetic surgery with it. </p>
<p>About the insurance, I think we are covered but will look into this. This is NOT elective surgery. You and I know how bad it is. All of a sudden I noticed son was tearing off bits of sandwich- he has no bite, it's off 1/2 ". I said how long has that been going on and he said I don't know about a year.This is NOT elective, this is necessary.</p>
<p>I have had no personal experience with this type of surgery, but have known several kids who were acquaintances with my kids who did. One young lady had severe TMJ symptoms for years that was solved with the procedure. All I can tell you is that now several years down the road, they all seem just fine and it is pretty much forgotten.</p>
<p>By the way, how old are your kids? Also, the implants- how do you know if they are necessary or not? I did some research into that and sometimes they do not look natural, some are too ridgid. I saw some befoe and after photos on the web and they look terrific. I really can sympathize . Your daughter will be so much better off for it. I can just see a total disaster ahead if this surgery was not done for my son. His bite is really out of line and he was in braces 7-13. Ugh.
Yeah, and they said the wisdom teeth have to come out now so he can heal up well before the braces go on in January. Son had them out yesterday and he isn't in much pain today. Hope that goes well.</p>
<p>My daughter had lower jaw issues. They broke her lower jaw, moved it forward, and put in screws to hold it in place. Also, they put an implant in her chin. She had a severe overbite and the orthodontist said her teeth would never be stable without the surgery. Also, as she aged she would have had the recessed chin look. She had her surgery in the summer after her 7th grade year. She was a real sport about it -- "hung tough" as they say. The swelling was incredible. It took weeks to totally subside. She could not eat solid food for a couple of months (at first she sipped everything through a straw). It was worth it, though. She looks great, and it having the surgery prevented other issues, such as TMJ.</p>