Firstly this surgery was purely conducted for mechanical reasons to fix my deformed bite/ jaw and to resolve issues of pain, discomfort and my chewing problems. It is orthognathic surgery not cosmetic.
(Cosmetic surgery is performed on all areas of the head, neck and body. It is undertaken when areas function PROPERLY but lack aesthetic appeal, cosmetic surgery is elective.) Although correcting an incorrect bite may result in positive changes to appearance this was not the reason for the surgery but purely a possible result as fixing an incorrect bite may make me appear more "normal". My surgeon stressed that I needed this surgery or I would have problems in later life, already I had clicking, pains, discomfort, struggle to chew and was wearing out my teeth. My parents would never allow me to have such a major operation if it was cosmetic as being under for 11 hours has many risks involved.
(Cosmetic surgery is performed on all areas of the head, neck and body. It is undertaken when areas function PROPERLY but lack aesthetic appeal, cosmetic surgery is elective.) Although correcting an incorrect bite may result in positive changes to appearance this was not the reason for the surgery but purely a possible result as fixing an incorrect bite may make me appear more "normal". My surgeon stressed that I needed this surgery or I would have problems in later life, already I had clicking, pains, discomfort, struggle to chew and was wearing out my teeth. My parents would never allow me to have such a major operation if it was cosmetic as being under for 11 hours has many risks involved.
MY SURGERY CONSISTED OF... (The medical terms are straight off the letter I received from the surgeon).
• Multiple segment Le Fort 1 advancement osteotomies of the maxilla (operation to move the upper jaw forward, widen and level the upper dental arch).
• Bilateral sagittal split osteotomies of the mandible (operation to reposition bottom jaw.)
• Possible bone graft to the upper jaw, harvested from jaw or pelvis.
(you may need to google if I don't explain well enough)
My surgery was predicted to take 9 hours but mine ended up being 11 hours. I didn't notice this but my poor anxious family apparently did! It took so long because initially it was thought that there was enough bone from my bottom jaw to put in my top jaw but the ended up needing more so they needed to harvest the bone from my pelvis. (This is common but only known while in surgery.) I later found out that the surgeon used 43 screws and 9 plates. I will post xrays when I next see my surgeon.
My surgeon was very pleased with the surgery and it all went well.
My surgeon is amazing and I definitely would recommend him if you decide to go through this surgery.
When dealing with your face it is important to have someone of top standard and who you trust.
The video linked below is basically what I had done, except my underbite wasn't nearly as bad and exaggerated as this one! My operation was a little more complicated as they also had to fix the angle of my bottom jaw and fix my open bite. Also my top jaw got split into 6 parts not 3 parts. This is an animation so don't be scared its not graphic.
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