Today i had my three pre-op appointments. yes, i said three - orthodontist, surgeon and hospital. i scheduled them all in one day to knock it all out.
first up - ortho. we took more pictures and x-rays. then a set of molds. luckily they took the wires out before. so it was easier. i don't think ill ever get used to having those made. it's such a gross feeling. i think it is cool that they make them and use them to know how they will be actually doing the surgery. it gives the surgeon something to practice with.
they put the same wires back in so that was good. no new tension to deal with.
then i had the pleasure of having surgical hooks added. they added these little extra posts to the actual wires between the brackets. the surgeon needs extra metal to wrap the bands around. i think there are 18 total. joy. i will have them for a week to get "used" to them. we will see.
the great ladies in the orthodontist office wished me luck then it was off to the surgeon's office.
we went over a few more details and i signed a bunch of paperwork. i had to read all the crazy things that could happen. initial here... initial there... kinda scary stuff. one of the things mentioned was that i could have a diminished sense of smell. oh my.
i asked the doctor to go over how the surgery is actually done. i told him i keep saying that i am having my jaw broken and that's really about all i know. he quickly corrected me in a funny tone... "we don't break your jaw, we saw it." haha i stand corrected.
as a sculpture i was curious what they do since it doesn't line up exactly. is there a gap? a cliff of sorts? does he smooth it out? well - the jaw is sawed and slid forward. there is no gap, which is comforting. it's like the plates in the earth shifting. it slides forward and then held in place with the plates and screws. there will be a small ledge. but he assured me that i won't be able to fill it. and if there are any major rough spots they smooth them out. so that is good. i'm kinda a perfectionist. so just knowing that there are going to be rough spots would make me crazy. i would want to get in there with sandpaper. haha
we took a super cool scan of my head. i'll post later.
i paid for the surgery up front. yay. that was probably more traumatic then signing papers that i could possibly have a pig nose once things have been shifted around. haha
after his office i went up to the hospital. they ran some tests, took some blood and made me sign a bunch of paperwork too. not too scary.
then to work. long day indeed.
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