Day 6: Surgeon Visit

 I had my 6 day follow-up appointment with the Surgeon today.  And I asked a few more questions about what he did for the operation.

• My mandible was brought forward 9.98mm 
• My maxillae was brought forward between 4-6mm on each side and the cant was corrected.
• The longer ramus was cut and angled to shorten the impact in the TMJ and correct the asymmetry.

Of course I wont be able to visualize these changes myself until the swelling goes down, but, overall Dr. M. was happy with the progress!  My midlines look a little off to me but he says that anything under a millimeter is negligible and they are less of landmark than the fact that my cuspids are lined up perfectly!!

Metal Mouth!!!

What else was there... oh I (only!) have two rubber bands that need to stay on my teeth all the time (this will help guide the jaw as it heals).  I was imaging a complex mesh-work of bands that clamped my teeth tight, but it is not that bad...

He told me that I need to switch from icing all the time to hot packs to assist the lymphatic drainage.
I also asked about using a straw, since it seems to be a huge no-no for many similar surgeries (negative pressure tearing up stitches), but he says that it is completely safe for me to use a straw.  I was so excited that we went straight to Tropical Smoothie from our appointment.  I stuck the straw into the smoothie aannndd nothing happened, my lips are too swollen to form a seal around the straw...ggrrr!

Overall

Pain: I ran out of pain meds before my appointment today and it increased to a 7/10 :(

Nausea: 0/10 (haven't taken a anti-emetic pill for 36 hrs!)

Exhaustion: pretty high

Main Frustrations: Drooling, numbness, fatigue, slow eating

Fresh juiced breakfast!