Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Surgery Date

I got a call Monday by my orthodontist's office to have me come in and take some x-rays and models of my teeth for my upcoming visit with the surgeon on Wednesday. So I did, but Wednesday's appointment with the surgeon was very surprising to me...
The date of my surgery has been set for August 8th at 9:15 am…OMG I am very happy to have this in sight. The morning of the procedure, we will check into Swedish Hospital at 7:00 am and will hang out in some kind of private Living room type environment, where I will have your initial consultation with the Anesthesiologist. I told my surgeon that I didn’t want to be “wheeled” into the surgery room “awake” and he said that there is no “rolling” into the surgery room any more and that I will be walking in there…ug and ouch.. At least I have 3 weeks to process this new image…
Surprisingly he also said the surgery will last 2 – 2 ½ hours, which was a huge surprise to me. Every blog I have read seem to mention very lengthy procedures. Of course, after surgery I will be sent to the “recovery” before being taken back to your room and I will spend one night at Swedish.
Also surprising, no splint after surgery, the splint will be used during your surgery but it will be removed once the procedure is finished.
The primary source of movement will happen in the upper jaw/palate. my lower jaw will be pushed back – but very little. No bone movement or plasty will happen in your chin.
And, no catheter – thank God…I was not looking forward to this event..even though I would be out like a light.
I will go back to see my orthodontist 10 – 14 days before the procedure, for new photos, x-rays and models, and then a couple of days before the procedure I will go back to the orthodontist for surgery hooks.

Kind of excited...and not freaking out yet...

12 comments:

  1. I am so excited for you!!! We have talked about this for so many years... I can't believe we are finally getting this done for you!!!

    I love you to pieces and I am so excited to be able to help you achieve this health goal.

    Love,

    ~me

    ReplyDelete
  2. YEAH!!! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow!! that is so soon, that's so exciting! good luck:)and that is a short surgery time, normally people say it's about 5 hours!! but that's good, because you won't have as much anesthetic so theres less chance of you getting sick from it yay! so pleased for you:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. brent i just posted a long post on your wall then my internet went down ugh!!! well i just wanted to say how exciting you're getting so close! Also great news that the surgery will only be 2-2.5 hrs!! That's great news! I'm glad you're not really all that nervous!

    We will be thinking about you! Please keep us posted leading up to your surgery about your apt's and whatnot!

    Cheers,
    Tara

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good luck with surgery Brent!

    If it makes you feel better my surgery was also 2 and a half hours and that was for double jaw, genio, and septo so you're not far off by any means.

    Keep us updated.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Tina, Rosa, Amanda Tara and Gordon! I am looking forward the being in the "post op" world. This is such a long process and I am glad to be closer to the finish line!
    @ Tara - Thanks for re-posting...it seems like blogger and your computer don't get along very well!
    @ Gordon - Thanks for the post - you had a lot done in the same period of time and that makes me feel better about my surgery time. 2.5 hours seems very manageable for me....
    Cheers to you all!
    Brent

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yay Brent I am SO excited for you! I think it's so funny that you didn't want to be brought into the OR awake... I requested they didn't give me drugs to relax me or make me loopy because I wanted to be fully awake and see what was going on in the OR. :) Your surgery is so soon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Dani!
    I remember reading about that in your blog, and thinking how brave you are! Me, not so much...but it looks like I will need to muster up the courage to walk into the OR room. It will be an amazing experience!
    Cheers,
    Brent

    ReplyDelete
  9. Brent,

    Wow...I'm glad to hear that you are able to see the light at the end of the "waiting tunnel"! I'm praying that your breathing issues are resolved immediately and that your healing process is full and swift. Thanks for the encouraging words you've posted on my blog. May you be blessed with an awesome post-op experience! I look forward to reading updates.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks Cece! That means a lot to me!! I continue to pray that your recovery continues to be swift and complete, with no complications!!
    Have a wonderful week!
    Cheers,
    Brent

    ReplyDelete
  11. Brent, I was re-reading some of your blog as I recall finding it helpful before. I see in this post you were not supposed to have a splint after surgery. Perhaps you commented on this later on, but I am curious, didn't you end up having the splint afterall? If so, do you know why the change from original plan? I'm not supposed to have one. In fact, our pre-op visit sounds very similar - 2 to 2 1/2 hr surgery for double jaw, no chin movement, no splint... hope you're doing well and thank you for posting on my blog. Your support means a lot! I hope you're doing well. I hope you post soon. If you'd like to email any tips, my address is taralharmon@gmail.com.

    Tara

    ReplyDelete