Weeks 3&4 Finally Seeing My New Skull

This whole "healing process" thing has finally started to speed up a bunch.



The last two appointments have been very similar... Dr. Gunson checks my bite, makes adjustments to my rubber band placements and then adjusts my cheek implant. I'm getting more used to having my cheek worked on but it's still uncomfortable. As the implant starts to harden it feels different when he makes the adjustments... it feels like he pushes a lot harder. Dr. Gunson also made adjustments to my screw so that it sticks out a little further. He literally took a little screwdriver and unscrewed it from my face. But don’t worry, it didn’t hurt. J



I was having trouble attaching a rubber band into my screw and hook. A few of my stitches were getting in the way on my screw so I couldn't attach my rubber band without pulling on the stitches. I even managed to pull one out. After a very frustrating and painful night of attempting to attach the rubber band my mom insisted that I go and have Dr. Gunson fix the stitches. The next morning Dr. Gunson removed a few of the stiches so that I could put the rubber band on without struggling.

The system I've worked out for attaching the rubber band is:

1. Put a large amount Orajel on both the hook and screw areas

2. Let it sit so that both my gums and my lips can get all nice and numb

3. Attach the rubber band (This is the hardest step. I hold up my lip with my middle and pointer fingers, and then I use my ring finger to help push the rubber band against the screw. Then with the other hand I use a mosquito hemostat to place the rubber band.)

At first the area around my screw bled a lot because the rubber band was irritating the gum tissue and rubbing against my stitches. After the first few days of attaching the rubber band the bleeding decreased.

I have also started to randomly bleed from that area. It has happened when I’ve been lying down or sleeping and when I’ve been up walking around so I’m not sure what brings it on. (For any pre surgery patients out there I suggest carrying a few Q-Tips with you at all times… No one wants to get caught walking around with a bloody smile. Another good thing to carry is Kleenex. LOTS of Kleenex. Since you aren’t allowed to blow your nose for a few months post op you kind of have a continuous runny nose.  Ya just gotta get used to dabbing your nose instead. Pretty good reason, if you ask me, to get the surgery in the fall and not the spring if you have allergies.)

Now for the exciting stuff!!! I finally got my post op x-rays!

28 screws and 8 plates later…..

Here is the side view... You can see the smaller of the two breaks in the lower jaw as well as plates, screws and all kinds of fun stuff.

The screw directly above my upper teeth, and the hook directly below my lower teeth are the "screw and hook" I am referring to in the post above. Both stick out of my gums so that I can access them.

Here you can see the difference in the breaks made on the lower jaw. The break on the left side is noticeably larger than on the right side. Bone grafting was needed on the left side in-between the break, as well as behind the molars on the right side. (You can see the grafts if you look carefully, they appear lighter in color to the rest of the bone. They look "misty" to me.)

The small white dots that are along the plates are the screws.