carz
04-07-2004, 11:13 PM
Hi Everyone,
I will give you a little of my history. First off I live in the Toronto Canada Area. I am in my early thirties and started orthodontic treatment in my late twenties to have my teeth straightened. I had an overbite and was told I would need surgery to have it fixed. I went to see the oral surgeon and he explained the surgery and said I would need about 2 weeks off work. Near the end of my orthodontic treatment the oral surgeon performed a lower sagital split and moved my lower jaw slightly forward. It is held in place with 6 titanium pins and some elastics were used. I had a 3 month old baby and specifically asked the doctor how much time my husband would need to take off work because of this and he said a week. After one week there is no way I was able to lift and care for my baby and if I had not had the baby and had to back to work after two weeks originally planned I would not have been able to do this either as I was just able to open enough to fit a straw in my mouth. Prior to the surgery I never had any pain at all in my mouth or jaw area. It has been 18 months since the surgery and I am in severe pain all the time. I can barely open my mouth wide enough to fit two fingers in and it even hurts to touch the side of my face. I hear clicking and grinding sounds when I talk or eat. I have been to several specialists now and physio therapy has not made a difference . Diclofenac has been the first prescription to give me some relief. I have no feeling in my bottom lip or chin which the oral surgeon did warn me could be a side effect but usually returned within 6 months to a year. Well I ever get this feeling back?
The last specialist who saw me was very nice he looked at my cat scan and mri and advised there is many arthritic changes in the bones and deterioration and bone on the outside that should't be there either. He said he was actually surprised I had as much movement as I do after looking at the images.
Unfortunatley, at this point he said my options were arthrocentisis and arthroscopy and because there is so much going on there would be no guarantee either would help and infact could make it worse.
He said that since I did not have any of problems prior to the surgery caused it but it may not necessarily mean the surgeon did something wrong but I am one of the rare cases that didn't take to the surgery and my body didn't adjust to the new changes.
I don't know what to do and feel the oral surgeon did this to me and I will have to live like this for the rest of my life. I am scared to have another surgery in fear of making it worse.
Where do I go from here and should the surgeon be responsible and be sued for this.
Any information and advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I will give you a little of my history. First off I live in the Toronto Canada Area. I am in my early thirties and started orthodontic treatment in my late twenties to have my teeth straightened. I had an overbite and was told I would need surgery to have it fixed. I went to see the oral surgeon and he explained the surgery and said I would need about 2 weeks off work. Near the end of my orthodontic treatment the oral surgeon performed a lower sagital split and moved my lower jaw slightly forward. It is held in place with 6 titanium pins and some elastics were used. I had a 3 month old baby and specifically asked the doctor how much time my husband would need to take off work because of this and he said a week. After one week there is no way I was able to lift and care for my baby and if I had not had the baby and had to back to work after two weeks originally planned I would not have been able to do this either as I was just able to open enough to fit a straw in my mouth. Prior to the surgery I never had any pain at all in my mouth or jaw area. It has been 18 months since the surgery and I am in severe pain all the time. I can barely open my mouth wide enough to fit two fingers in and it even hurts to touch the side of my face. I hear clicking and grinding sounds when I talk or eat. I have been to several specialists now and physio therapy has not made a difference . Diclofenac has been the first prescription to give me some relief. I have no feeling in my bottom lip or chin which the oral surgeon did warn me could be a side effect but usually returned within 6 months to a year. Well I ever get this feeling back?
The last specialist who saw me was very nice he looked at my cat scan and mri and advised there is many arthritic changes in the bones and deterioration and bone on the outside that should't be there either. He said he was actually surprised I had as much movement as I do after looking at the images.
Unfortunatley, at this point he said my options were arthrocentisis and arthroscopy and because there is so much going on there would be no guarantee either would help and infact could make it worse.
He said that since I did not have any of problems prior to the surgery caused it but it may not necessarily mean the surgeon did something wrong but I am one of the rare cases that didn't take to the surgery and my body didn't adjust to the new changes.
I don't know what to do and feel the oral surgeon did this to me and I will have to live like this for the rest of my life. I am scared to have another surgery in fear of making it worse.
Where do I go from here and should the surgeon be responsible and be sued for this.
Any information and advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Sponsor
Marlene
04-08-2004, 12:28 AM
Hello carz & Welcome,
Some post-surgical TMJ cases can possibly benefit from variations of splint therapy. While I did not have any type of TMJ surgery, I did have successful splint therapy with Dr. Brock Rondeau in London, Ont. I do know that he has treated some post-surgical patients.
Marlene
Some post-surgical TMJ cases can possibly benefit from variations of splint therapy. While I did not have any type of TMJ surgery, I did have successful splint therapy with Dr. Brock Rondeau in London, Ont. I do know that he has treated some post-surgical patients.
Marlene