The roller coaster of emotions continue and I go through
this process. A unique blend of fear and
excitement rests in the pit of my stomach.
This week has been hectic.
Tuesday night was open house and I didn’t get home until close to
9pm. Parent turn out was low because I
teach juniors and seniors, yet everything went smoothly.
My desk
Wednesday I left work five minutes early to go to Miami to
see my surgeon. They asked me to bring
my patient folder with the surgery information, so I did. It had been awhile since I even opened that
folder. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I was
ever going to need it again.
Normally my surgeon is running 1-3 hours behind, so I came
with a clipboard, a purple pen, and approximately 36 essays to grade. This time he wasn’t running late :) Well, 15 minutes but that doesn’t count.
I had a set of panoramic x-rays and pictures taken. Then I went into the room and another surgeon
was waiting for me. He did an exam,
asked questions, and reviewed my chart.
Then the head nurse came in and we all began discussing the surgery,
what I need to do pre operative, and what doesn’t need to be done again.
Last year I had everything except my pre-op clearance done
when we found out about my metal allergies.
I will not need another CTA (cat scan with contrast) or to visit the
nueroradiologist again. I will need an
updated CT and impressions. We need to
know how much my jaw has shifted within a year and whether or not I will need
braces. Last year, I wasn’t going to
need them but this year I might.
My surgeon arrived and we began discussing the surgery. The metals testing stumped him, as I had no
reaction to the patch test. He suggested that I get tested again just to see the results.
This tests costs close to $600 and insurance doesn’t cover it, so I did
not want to have it done again. My main
argument for not doing it was even if the test now shows I am not allergic to
anything, how do we know this is right?
He agreed and we decided to go ahead using the titanium that the FDA
approved me for. Last year I had all my
questions answered, but I did learn a few new details this time:
1)
Because the nueroradiologist puts the stints in
the day before, I will have to stay in the hospital the night before the
surgery.
2)
After I am put under, the surgeon will wire my
jaw shut and in the position that he wants it.
If all goes well, I will be unwired by the time I wake up.
3)
The surgery takes 7-8 hours.
4)
I will have to take amoxicillin to prevent
infection when I go to the dentist from here on out.
5)
Other than that, all the normal warnings were
given.
TMJ concepts actually makes a replica of my skull and places the custom implants on it (don't worry, I will get a pic of it!)
As of right now I am waiting for my next set of doctor’s
visits for the CT and the impressions. That will also be the day we pick a
surgery date.
So, until everything is set I am going to work on spending time with my family, my friends, and not stressing. I will continue to participate in activities I love such as volunteering for 100+ Dogs of the Everglades and exercising. I will update my blog as soon as I have more information.
