3 Month Recovery for Double Jaw Surgery

This is another blog post for anyone who is curious about what my recovery was like over the summer.   I hope anyone who is getting double jaw surgery can read this and know what to expect.

No lie, my recovery was not fun and it was not easy. This post is in no way meant to scare anyone from getting this surgery. I am so happy with my face now, that all the discomfort and pain I felt during recovery was worth it. But this is an honest recap of the recovery process that I had to brace myself for months in advance. My doctors told me what to expect long before I even had a surgery date, but I still wasn’t prepared for a lot of things, like the lack of feeling in my face and the long-term swelling.

I didn’t post any pictures of my face right after my surgery, and when you look at these pictures, you’ll probably understand why. I didn’t really post my face on social media during the summer because the swelling was so bad, so here is a glimpse of what I looked like for the past 3 months. Keep an eye out  for a vlog coming soon of the entire braces-surgery-recovery process.

Also, this is a very long post so bear with me: a lot happened, so I have a lot to share.

May 26th, 2017: I woke up at 5 a.m. to drive to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore with my parents. I couldn’t eat or drink anything since midnight. When I arrived at the hospital I had to answer all of these questions at the front desk to confirm I was who I said I was and I had consented to the surgery. (I chose this time to be cheeky and respond to the question ‘What is the doctor doing today?’ with ‘He’s gonna break my face’.) After that we sat in the waiting room for a while and I was just a big ball of nerves. Around 7 a.m. they called me into a hospital room where they asked me even more questions about my health history, had me change into a hospital gown and hooked me up to IVs. By this point I was seriously freaking out and trying my hardest not to cry. It really freaked me out that I was going to wake up 7 hours from then, not looking like myself and in a lot of discomfort. I met with an anesthesiologist, my surgeon and his assisting team. We went over the process with my parents there too. Around 8:30 a.m. the nurses started wheeling me into the OR and I finally burst into tears because I was so nervous. They had to give me meds through the IVs in my hand to help me calm down. I barely remember being wheeled out of the room and then I woke up totally confused and dazed in the ICU.

Day 0/Night1: Worst day/night of my life. Seriously. This does not hold a candle to any of the times I got dumped or crashed my car or anything like that. I was so confused when I woke up in the ICU. Apparently my parents had seen me right after the surgery but I have no memory of them there. I vaguely remember being rolled out of the ICU into an elevator and into another room on another floor by 2 nurses. I didn’t like being moved because it made my face shake. By the time I got to my room, I was fully awake, which was actually pretty surprising for someone in my condition. My nurse gave me a piece of paper and a pencil to write things down because I couldn’t talk. I just kept asking for my parents. Apparently the ICU nurse told them to go home because I wasn’t expected to wake up or get moved out of the ICU that night.  I just laid there totally confused while nurses and tech continuously checked in on me. A few hours later my parents finally came back and took this picture below. They stayed for about an hour and then went back home until morning. I didn’t have my phone, so I just watched late night TV and tried to sleep.

I was hooked up to 2 IVs for hydration and medicine. I had a tube going from my nose to my stomach that tried to suck out all the blood that I swallowed during surgery. My mouth was rubberbanded shut so I couldn’t open it. When I had to get up to pee, I was disconnected from my nausea medicine and it only took 10 minutes before I was throwing up black bile through my teeth. It. Was. Traumatic. This was expected because of the anesthesia and blood in my stomach, but still it was the worst moment of this entire recovery. I was totally zoned out and started crying because it freaked me out and my parents weren’t there. I also want to add that I was on my period, so that was an added factor to my misery. I only slept 2 hours at a time and had to get more pain meds just so I could relax and sleep. This was the worst the pain/discomfort I ever had during this whole ordeal, which was a 6/10 on the pain scale.

I want to make a huge shoutout to my nurse that night, Dave, who contacted my parents for me, helped me with the whole vomit thing, gave me more pain meds AND stayed up with me from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. when I couldn’t sleep. He told me stories and pointed out what was outside my window. Truly an awesome guy.

Day 1/Night 2: I managed to get a few hours of sleep, but the residents who assisted with my surgery came in at like 6:30 a.m. to check on me. They pulled out the tube that went down into my stomach from my nose and it was horrible. The guy gave no warning and just pulled it right out. Ouch. My throat was sore for days after that.

The swelling had really begun to get bad on this day. Ice packs were literally my best friends.  My nurses kept trying to give me liquid Tylenol and Motrin but it didn’t help much so I got stronger drugs (all liquid or though an IV). I didn’t really feel pain as much as I was sore and scared to feel pain. The entire experience was uncomfortable but I never felt sharp pains in my face. I think that is because the nerves in my face were “stretched” and feeling won’t even return until 6-12 months post-op. This was so I wouldn’t have scaring on my face.

My parents came back around 11 a.m. and we watched Maryland lacrosse games all day. Lord help them because they could not read my handwriting and did not understand any sign language I was throwing at them. At one point, I wrote down that I wanted “human contact” as in a hug or a pat on the back. They thought I wrote down “hummus” and started lecturing me about what I could and couldn’t eat on the all liquid diet. Lesson learned kids; get a dry erase board or a bright Sharpie market so your parents understand you.

I didn’t want to eat, but my parents and nurses knew I had to get some kind of nutrition, so they kind of force fed me with syringes. I was so congested and swollen that breathing was not a simple task. I wanted to blow my nose but I wasn’t allowed to because my sinuses had  taken a beating from the surgery. I had to spray saline up my nose to try to help with the congestion, but it didn’t really work. My body got tired of laying in the hospital bed, but I could only get up to go to the bathroom. I was still nauseous and so afraid to throw up again. That night I slept a little better. The congestion was definitely the worst part. What I also didn’t expect was the excessive drooling that happened. It was pretty gross and I couldn’t even feel it on my face when it happened.

Day 2: I felt pretty much the same as the day before. I walked around the hallways for the first time which was exciting, although I was a sight for sore eyes.The congestion was still awful and I hated the syringes. The goal was to squirt the syringes into the back of my mouth where there is a little hole where your jaws meet. I didn’t like how they poked my cheeks. More residents came to check on me and then gave me the ‘Okay’ to go home.  My nurses started unhooking me from all the IVs and going over what I needed to do at home to stay healthy.

I got to go home that day around 2 p.m. but I was really nervous to leave the hospital because I was being so closely monitored there. The car ride was very uncomfortable because it was a bumpy ride and I was so sore. That day I took a shower for the first time in days, but I sat down the whole time because I was so out of it. I tried to stay up past 9 p.m. but honestly couldn’t do it. My parents gave me a little bell to ring when I needed something. I basically kept them up all night like a newborn baby because I needed meds every 2-3 hours just to sleep.That first night home I took the Oxycodone but stopped after that because I tripped really bad and I saw monsters on the wall. (Have you ever seen The Woman in Black? Well me either, but I’m pretty sure she was hanging out in my closet that night.) I had to take my medicine through a small syringe and I would gag on it because I hated the taste. Cherry Tylenol and Peach Motrin: I am scarred for life. Never again.

Days 3-5: The first week was the worst as far as eating. Everything tasted bad, even the smoothies and milkshakes my family would bring me to try to cheer me up. I could only use a syringe, so not everything would fit in it or could be pushed out.  I stuck with clear liquids the first day home but I still had no appetite. Also, not to be gross, but I didn’t poop this week. At all. I carried around various washcloths and towels as my “drool rags” because that was pretty out of control. I had to sleep with my head elevated and with no pressure on my face. I did the saline up the nose a lot because the congestion was just not going away. I also had surgical anemia, so I got dizzy and couldn’t stand for long periods of time. I took 2 naps every day (although that’s not of character for me lol). I would have to sit in the shower because I was so weak. I was barely eating anything even though I was starting to get hungry. (For more info on the all liquid diet, you can go to this blog post).

I think on Day 4 my best friend broke me out of the house and took me to Michael’s Craft Store, because I hated being at home. I felt nice to drive but this was actually really dangerous for me because I could have easily gotten a serious infection because the surgery made my immune system weak temporarily. I was happy to go do something that wasn’t just sitting on the couch all day, but I would not recommend this for anyone who had just gotten the surgery. It was dangerous and I also got extremely tired just walking around a store for 30 minutes. 2/10 would not recommend.

Day 6/First Post-Op: I was so excited to go back to see my doctors. After they took out the rubberbands that bounded my mouth, I could finally open my mouth and start talking again! This was such a blessing because my parents were getting so tired of me grunted incoherently. Talking was hard because of the splint and swelling. Feeling my new mouth for this first time was the strangest thing. My mouth had never been in this position before, so it was all new to me. I had to wear two rubberbands on the sides of my teeth 24/7, so I wouldn’t overextend and could heal correctly.

Sidenote: when I say ‘splint’ I mean a plastic cast that was wired into the top of my jaw on my braces. My bottom jaw would fit very precisely into this cast. It helped my jaws heal properly.

I was able to eat with a spoon but most of it dripped down my chin, so a syringe was still my preference. Drooling was even worse now that I could open my mouth. I still had to use a small syringe of special mouthwash and a baby toothbrush to clean my mouth.

Week 2: I stopped the pain meds because the taste was so bad, I really didn’t experience anymore pain, and I wanted to be able to drive. I still slept with my head propped up to ease the congestion and I was afraid to put any pressure on my face. I was getting a little better at talking but it was very slurred and mumbled. The swelling was still really bad and I had no feeling in the bottom half of my face still.

Week 3/ 2nd Post Op: I had my 2nd post-op. They changed the direction of my rubberbands in my mouth because my bottom jaw was not fitting into my splint properly. They also started documenting where I was and wasn’t getting the feeling back in my face. My nose and cheeks got feeling back but that was it.  I went back to work this week, which I was so happy about. Everyone at my job was so sweet and supportive of my recovery. I had to control the drooling especially while at work because anytime I looked down some drool would slip out (which was totally embarrassing). I would also get dizzy sometimes and this is when the migraines started. We think the migraines are because of the surgical anemia and the metal in my face pushing down on my sinuses, but we don’t know for sure yet. This is the week I started feeling more like myself despite the all liquid diet and swelling.

Week 4: I started eating enough to the point I could drink alcohol again. Everything I ate had to go through a blender first. I was still swollen but it was becoming less noticeable. I could finally smile again and life started to feel normal again, even with the splint in my mouth. Certain parts of my face would get tingly or itchy, but I could never relieve it because it was still numb. Yet this was a good sign because it meant that feeling was returning. The congestion also subsided this week and for that I was so grateful. I started going out with my friends again which was awesome because all I wanted was to experience part of a normal summer in some way.

Week 5: I was so tired of the all liquid diet, so I started swallowing whole food like pasta and avocado. I started to get the feeling in my upper lip back, which helped with talking. I felt strong enough that I could go to the gym for this first time since school ended. Going out and staying up was easier and I could work full days at work now. I just looked super swollen but I felt pretty good.

Week 6/3rd Post Op: I GOT THE SPLINT TAKEN OUT! It was seriously so disgusting and the roof of my mouth started bleeding, but I was happier than a fat kid in a candy shop. I got my braces tightened that same day and my orthodontist said I had to wear rubberbands on the right side of my mouth and all the way across my teeth when I slept. Chewing was really hard because I had to retrain the muscles in my face to work because I hadn’t used them for 6 weeks. The roof of my mouth was really sore too. I looked more like such a normal person the second the splint came out, but I was chewing my food like a dog licking peanut butter off its nose. Not. Pretty.

Week 7: Chewing was still really hard at first. The drooling had pretty much subsided with a few slip ups here and there. This was the week I started posting pictures of myself on social media because I finally felt like I looked presentable again. I still felt my face was fat but other people hardly noticed. I could use a regular toothbrush now too, which was amazing because the special mouthwash was just not cutting it anymore. I also gave myself a fat lip one time because I kept biting down on my lip and I couldn’t feel it. Oops.

Week 8: The swelling was getting less noticeable. My surgeon said that the swelling would go down more in the next 6 months but this was pretty much what my face was going to look like.The rubberbands were super annoying, but otherwise I couldn’t complain. Solid food was getting easier day by day and you know I was going out to restaurants all the time now. I may have gone a little crazy because I missed solid food that much. I think I gained a lot of the weight I lost from the surgery back during this week. Oops again.

Week 9: I got a little more feeling in my lower lip to the point where I could soft smile again. I still preferred soft food but I didn’t hesitate to eat solid food anymore. I think others noticed me struggling to eat more than I did. I went to the beach with my family and I submerged my head underwater for the first time. That felt a weird, but I didn’t die so that was cool. I blew my nose for the first time too, which was a long time coming. But unfortunately my sinuses were still pretty bad, so I had some gross nasal drip that was hard to control. My mom refused to sit in front of me while I ate because apparently I would chew with my mouth open and she found it disgusting. My bad…

Week 10: The swelling was pretty much gone, which I was so happy about. I had been eating solid food for about a month. I felt confident in saying that I felt 100% fine during this time. Smiling came so easily to me by this point and I just had to sleep with rubberbands at night. I resumed a normal summer and I was so happy.

Week 11:  I think I started getting feeling back in my teeth, which I hated because my teeth and gums were super sensitive. This made brushing my teeth not enjoyable. No real changes from the week before. Still feeling good and looking better with each passing day.

Week 12: Feeling 10/10 and like I never got surgery. I was even able to keep a lot of the weight off that I lost this summer. I still lack feeling in my chin and lower lip, but I’ve gotten used to it. It should come back eventually, right?

It is so incredible to me that I even had surgery at all just in May. I think I look pretty normal too, but I’m still getting used to the “new face”. I am so happy with the way I look now (not that I had a problem with the way I looked before…but you get it). The fact that my top jaw is now on top of my bottom jaw is so new and exciting to me. It’s nice to not have the underbite anymore and I don’t experience pain or discomfort in my jaws anymore.  I still tend to swallow my food rather than chew it, but I do not have any more surgical restrictions. I went to the orthodontist this week for new wires and he said I didn’t need to wear rubberbands anymore at all. My teeth also lacked soreness after getting new braces on, so that tells me that my teeth aren’t shifting anymore. Which is good because I assume they are exactly where they need to be (?). My orthodontist and surgeon said I will be getting the braces off by the end of the year and I literally cannot wait.

I want to send a big shoutout and thank you to everyone at the University of Maryland Medical Center. My nurses were incredible and I was taken such good care of. I think my surgeon and his team did a spectacular job and helped me so much during my recovery.

My parents deserve their own personal shoutout for putting up with me the entire summer. They were literally my saving grace and helped me survive the toughest thing I’ve ever endured. Even when I was grunting at them when I couldn’t talk, ringing a bell in the middle of the night for pain meds or drooling uncontrollably all over our furniture, I would not have gotten through this recovery without the TLC of my wonderful parents.

I also want to thank all of my amazing friends who came to visit me while I was recovering. Y’all are the best and I don’t deserve you. You all brightened my days when I was going through such a terrible time. Love you lots.

As I sit here writing this post, the entire experience feels like a lifetime ago, but also as if it were yesterday. Since I got back to school, everyone has been asking me about my face and summer, which I love. Seeing people’s reactions is hilarious to me and I’ve noticed that some people don’t even recognize me from far away. I find this kind of extreme because its like the same face material, just in a new position. I’m still me, even though I don’t look like it 100% anymore. A friend also told me that I talk differently now, but that is up for debate. Next up: braces come off!

Wow if you read this entire thing, good for you. Thanks for reading/skimming!