I'm alive! I feel like someone is jabbing a knife into my brain, but I'm alive! Surgery on Thursday was a success! Although I went in a bit late (7:45 am), I was out and home just shortly after 11 am! Everything went smoothly. Dr. Troost took some cartilage from elsewhere in my nose (doesn't this create another hole???) and was able to patch the perforation on my septum. I left the hospital with a nose packed full of who knows what and some good drugs. The rest of that day is pretty much a blur and sleeping that evening was no fun. Yesterday (Friday) morning I had a doc appt. at 9:30 am to remove the packing and as a general follow up to make sure things went well. The trip in to DC was amusing in itself...you might want to ask Brian about it because apparently I was "a lot of fun". Pain meds will do that. And, the picture above shows what I looked like traveling in to the doc by metro - lovely, huh? Removing the packing - OW! OW! OW! May I just say that it was NO fun and I hope I never have to do that again? The pain was only momentary, but whew, did it hurt! How those 2 1/2 inch long pieces of whatever they were fit up there is beyond me! I swore he was pulling my brain out through my nose! LOL Once the tears cleared, I realized that I could sniff! And that my sniffer felt different! Yippee! I've still got a splint in my nose and will have for the next two weeks - he'll take it out on December 17th, just in time for Christmas! I still didn't sleep very well last night - now that the packing it out, I have a lot of clotting and drainage (sorry for the visual) and I'm very stuffy. My nose also burns like crazy inside! This will go away in a few days, or so the doc says. :) Other than these few things, I'm feeling surprisingly good today and am on the mend! I'm still restricted to no lifting or strenuous activities for 2 weeks, but the time will pass quickly, I'm sure. I do believe that this would be called progress!!
7 comments:
I just finished reading all your blogs. Thanks for documenting the entire process. I'm sched to have jaw surgery with Dr. Posnick in May. That wasn't cool about how he handled the nose situation. Should I have second thoughts about having him do the procedure?
Hey, I'm the one who left the previous post. Now that I think about it, you were complaining about your nose very early on. It made your recovery process doubly difficult and uneccesarily so. To me, I would find out if the cleaning of the turbines/tubes?? was a basic process that was rushed or overlooked or pawned off to an 'intern' who didn't do it right. I'm pissed off for you that you had this extra aggrevation.
Check out the post by BuyerBeware date 2007 - http://messageboards.makemeheal.com/chin-jaw-implants/posnick-and-his-costs-t44812-15.html
Hi J. Glad you found my blog and are doing your research beforehand. :)
You're right...I was complaining about my nose early on. But, understand a few things. First, although the turbinates weren't cleaned as aggressively as they could have been, there's nothing wrong with them and that was not a repair that had to be made. Second, we don't know if the perforation is an error on Dr. P's part. Third...although I complained, I didn't push. I have a very high pain threshold and I hated to complain to the docs. So, when I asked about it, my emails to them probably sounded a bit random and like I was just looking for some TLC more than anything. If I had said, "There's something wrong with my nose, I need to come in and see Dr. Posnick", they would have seen me. So, I can't place all the blame on Posnick and his office.
Dr. Posnick is the best of the best in this area. I don't care what anyone says, he comes with high marks and is well regarded by his colleagues. He knows his stuff and I wanted him working on my face. You can be pissed off FOR me, but don't be pissed off at him because of MY situation. Remember that every situation is different and VERY individual in nature! My nose is the only issue (and VERY minor in the grand scheme of things) I've had go wrong, and I don't care anymore where the fault lies. My bite is perfect. My teeth are aligned. My jaw doesn't hurt anymore. I have regained MUCH of the feeling in my face and have FULL use of every muscle. Scar tissue? It doesn't exist...he did a beautiful job - you'd never know I had the surgery.
Last thing, then I'll shut up lol. Dr. P takes on fellows in his office. They are intelligent, caring and competent. The fellows assist with every aspect of your care, from beginning to end, and they assist during the surgery. You will not be pawned off, nor was that ever a concern of mine and it shouldn't be one of yours. You're right in doing your research and making sure you're comfortable with every aspect of your care, from beginning to end. Posnick might be a bit full of himself from time to time but he's a very good doctor.
What procedure(s) are you having done?
Ok, thanks for the follow up, clarification and reassurance.
I'm glad that your recovery is moving along and the pain/discomfort has diminshed.
I've got SEVERE sleep apnea. I think I'm getting the exact procedure that you had done.
Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomies of the Mandible
LeFort I Maxillary Osteotomy
Dental Labwork/Splints
Septoplasty
Reduction of Inferior Turbinates
Osteotomy and Advancement of Chin for OSAS
My question is I really don't have anyone local to take care of me post recovery; you got excellent care from your husband. Should I bring my parents up to help with the recovery?
THANKS!!
Hey J!
Thank you! Things are going well - I turned a corner about a month and a half ago and things seem to be progressing. I have a ways to go yet, and things are still changing for me. I have just recently experienced some loss of feeling in my bottom lip and chin again. Not sure why - but it comes and goes so I can only guess that the nerves are still regenerating. Eating isn't really difficult now...just strange and a very different feeling than ever before. And without the braces, it's even more strange because again, things feel so different. If I can get my nose issues straightened out, I think that things might just seem a bit more normal! :)
Yes, you're having the same surgery that I did.
In answer to your question about bringing your parents up - yes, yes and yes! Oh my, you will NOT be able to take care of yourself. I'm telling you - I don't care how strong you are (or think you are), it won't happen. This is NOT an easy surgery and anyone that tells you that you'll be doing anything on your own for the first few weeks is a liar. My husband is absolutely wonderful - surgery or not. But if there's anyone I want by my side when things get tough, it's him. He's generous, caring and compassionate and I got through the recovery period as well as I did because of him. You need to have someone there to make your dinners, to crush up your meds and to do anything and everything else you might need. Plan for it and plan for it now...get those ducks in a row so you're ready for it. You'll be in no shape to take care of yourself and you'll be glad you had someone there. :)
Have you been taking Vitamin B12 sublingual vitamins. From another blog I read the person said they believe it helped speed up the nerve regeneration. Check it out if you haven't done so already - http://iagreedtoorthognathicsurgery.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=21
Thank you very much for the recommendation about post recovery support. I live in a 1 bedroom condo in DC so I definetly need to start looking for housing for us the day/month after surgery.
With regards to insurance, did Posnick's office take care of whatever approval there was ahead of time so there would be no guessing if it was going to be covered or not? My job situation is a bit unstable right now so it would not be good if I had to pay out of pocket for this.
Thanks again for all your help. I wish I could return the favor. Have any computer problems? I work in IT :)
Hi J. I realized that I didn't respond to your last questions - my apologies.
I did not take vitamins after surgery. Whether they would have helped, I'm not sure but I can't imagine that any vitamin would hurt. Ask Dr. P about it and see what he thinks, but I'm all for it if it's something that could make a difference.
Your biggest question is about insurance and the coverage it provides. This is something that Andrea and Dr. P should have discussed with you and if they haven't, have a good, long chat with them about it. To answer your first question - yes, they took care of the approval process. I was seen by a speech therapist and an ENT to cover all our bases and to deem this surgery "medically necessary". Once those visits were done, Dr. P's office submitted all the information to our insurance company and it was returned that I WOULD have coverage. This is where it gets hairy. You WILL have to pay out of pocket and the way that their office works is that they look back at past insurance claims of patients that have been in and out their door and try to give you an estimate (a very rough one) of what you will pay. No matter what, because they're Out of Network, you will pay out of pocket. Plan on this, and plan for a lot. Dr. P is one of the most expensive docs out there - he's good but he charges for that expertise! Before the surgery, you will be required to pay an up front amount - based on those past claims. Once all is said and done and they submit to your insurance company, you will either be responsible for any amount over that number or Dr. P's office will refund any overpayments should your insurance company pay more than the estimate. Plan on the former - I can almost guarantee that you'll have to fork out more money in the end. We did and it wasn't pretty. We paid a hefty fee before surgery and ended up paying through the nose AFTER surgery - a completely unexpected amount and a large one, at that! DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Hope this helps!
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