I almost didn't answer the phone this morning because the caller id said unknown name/unknown number. I usually let those go to voicemail because most of the time they are telemarketers that I don't want to talk to anyway. But I'm really glad that I answered since it was the intern from the surgeon's office calling to go over the surgery one more time and to see if I had any questions, etc.
I had to tell him right away that I have been dreaming that my teeth are loose and I will have problems getting the surgery done. He said that is totally normal with this procedure-they hear that a lot. I have also been afraid that they will call and cancel after what happened last time. I figured they would look at all the recent models, etc. and say "NOPE, still not ready"!! He said everything is ready, they "crossed all the T's and dotted the I's".
He said that they worked up the models and did the surgery on them and all the measurements and predictions were done on the computer. He said after doing all that and considering everything, they think that doing the genioplasty would be detrimental after all that and from the predictions and measurements they would only be moving it a .5 mm anyway, which he said they don't even make a plate that size. It would be like cutting the chin and putting it back in the same place. Kind of pointless!! It would save recovery from that procedure and would take about an hour off the total surgery time. Which I've been told can range from 6-8 hours. That's along time. At my pre-op appointment, he also talked about taking all the measurements so that they can look at all the esthetics of it and get a balanced result, they don't just worry about function. That was reassuring as I want things fixed but I want to look better too:)
He said they would be widening the top 3-4 mm and leveling the bite to close the open bite that I have in the front, which would then allow them to move the bottom jaw forward 9mm, which would also take care of needing the genioplasty. We talked about how if you just look at me now, it appears that I would really benefit from the genio, but actually doing the model surgery and looking at the tracings, etc. that's when they decided it would not really be needed. He said they move the jaw 10 mm in their sleep apnea cases, so it is very close to that and I should notice a great improvement in my airway-if I had any sleep apnea symptoms (never been tested, but it should be helpful anyway to get more air!)
He said that I won't be happy with them for the first week and a half but after that I should really be pleased with the results (once the swelling goes down he said) We discussed the diet a bit more. They have been saying a "no chew" diet from the start since I'm not supposed to be banded shut, but from all the other blogs and videos that I've seen, I am guessing that due to swelling I will only be able to manage liquids the first few days at least, and he agreed with that statement, so when I go shopping on Friday, I will be stocking up on things to drink.
I have to remind him on Tuesday that I want to see the predictive tracings, etc. that we talked about today. They generated all that after my workup appointment and I haven't been back for any kind of followup since it's 1 1/2 hours away. He confirmed that I am scheduled for 7:30 Tuesday, the 23rd. Of course I need to be there 2 hours early, I will be staying closeby the night before. I am not driving 1 1/2 hours on the morning of surgery!!
It's not long now, I am nervous and excited!! I guess I will tell my friends that it's back on, I was waiting to make sure. Tomorrow I go for the surgical hooks. I need to figure out how to get some pics on here too:) I'll post soon, maybe some pics of the hooks??
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