AJ's Double Jaw SurgeryAKA: Orthognathic Surgery; Underbite Surgery Welp folks, here it goes. On June 2, 2004, I had, what is commonly referred to, as getting the shit kicked out of you. That's right, I actually agreed to having another human being cut open my face, and break my jaw in six places. Not to worry though...they screwed it all back together, and made me as beautiful as my big brother, Ian (you may be able to find shots of him exposing his crack somewhere on this website). So anyways, I went ahead and took some pictures, so I could remember what I looked like before the procedure. And you guys get to see me, in all my glory!
Pre-Operative Shots
The Morning at the Hospital
Right out of the O.R.
Operation Day Plus OneI have been told many things about this picture. That I look like a pygmy...that I look like I weigh 300 pounds...that I am ugly as sin...that I lost my neck. My friends say the nicest things!
Plus Two --I couldn't open my mouth yet, or move any muscles in my face. Yeah, I know it's pretty funny. Go ahead and laugh...you unsympathetic bastards!
Look how pretty I am. Kiss meeeee.
Plus Three
Plus Four
Plus Five
Plus Six
Plus Seven --One week! It took me a week to smile. But wasn't it worth the wait?! Look at that mug!
Plus Nine --This was a huge day for me. I saw my oral surgeon, and he gave me the O.K. to eat "soft foods." Let me explain something to you. I am not what you would consider a large man. I am not what you would consider an average sized man. I don't carry enough weight on me to get me through a weekend without food. One day of "eating" liquids sucks, let alone nine misery filled days. In fact, months leading up to my surgery , my brother kept telling me, "dude, I am doing liquids with you." Over and over again. I was flattered that he would go through the anguish of a liquid diet, just so I didn't have to do it alone. How long did he last? Not even a day. I think he went to Jamba Juice once, and called it off. Thanks Ian! But, I have to say my dad was huge...he did liquids with me the whole time. He's the MAN! When you look into a styrofoam cup at a pinkish liquid (liquefied spaghetti), you just want to cry. In fact, I did cry. But my dad cried with me, and together we drank our food for nine days. It is something no one should ever have to do. I understand some people have their jaws wired shut, and are on the liquid diet for up to six weeks. If that had been the case with me, I'm not sure what would happen. I would probably start blending myself. By this time, I had lost 15 pounds off of my 5'7" 140 pound frame. I was a cool 125. I was so low on energy that one morning, after shaving, I was so exhausted, I had to get back into bed. Fortunately, I only have to shave every 2 hours, so at least I had that going for me.
Below is as wide as I could open my mouth. When they move your jaw, the muscles that you previously used to control the motion of your jaw, are no longer lined up correctly. As a result, new muscles that were pretty much dormant before the surgery, now control the motion of the jaw. It takes awhile to work them up, and stretch them out. You'll also notice a little bit of green on my top teeth. Though that was probably the color of my teeth at the time (as you can't brush very well due to lack of jaw movement), it is actually a splint. The splint is a piece of plastic that is attached to the top teeth. There are bite marks on the bottom of the splint, so that when you bite down, it forces your lower jaw into a preset position. Basically , it ensures that your jaw is healing in the right spot. It also ensures that "s" sounds come out as "th" sounds.
Plus Eleven
Plus TwelveI am starting to look human again. A human with collagen implants in his lips! Man those things are huge! |
