The Gory Details

Wow, I can't believe two weeks have already passed since my surgery. They seem like lost weeks. My surgery for bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomies with mandibular advancement and genioplasty was scheduled for 10/25/2006 at 8:30 am. We arrived at Santa Monica UCLA Hospital at 6:30 am. Everything went smoothly and I was in a hospital gown, cap and booties in no time. The blankets were warmed which had a calming effect. The nurses were really nice, the anesthesiologist looked like he just graduated from high school. My surgeon, Dr. K, showed up around 7:30 and so did my dentist who wanted to make sure that my bite was put in the right place. They wheeled me in sometime around 8:00 am or so. I had a conversation with the anethesiologist about using benzodiazepines because of my history with them but in the end, I opted for being calmed down. I don't remember much after they transferred me to the OR table.

My surgery lasted 4 and a half hours. I remember waking up and Dr. K telling me it was all over and I was doing fine. I was a bit woozy but otherwise felt fine, no pain, no weepiness. I came in and out of conciousness in the recovery room and remember thinking, thank god its over! When I first woke from the anesthesia I thought it was really funny and kind of odd that my legs were sort of buzzing and vibrating. It took me a while to realize that they had put some sort of leg-gloves on both my legs that were hooked up to a machine that massaged my legs to keep the blood flowing. Finally around 3:00 pm they wheeled me into a room. I remember being wheeled down the hallway and into an elevator and not caring too much if anyone saw me.

I remember waking up again and Jeff was sitting in a chair. I asked him how long he had been there and he said 5 minutes. My concept of time was warped. Other than my face feeling really big, espcially my lower lip, I don't remember feeling too bad. Until about 7:00 pm just as my surgeon came to see me. I was really thirsty and I had been chewing on ice chips and drinking small amounts of water. Then the nausea hit me and I started vomiting blood. Dr. K said that it was blood that I swallowed during he surgery. He said tried to suck it out but I became concious too soon after the procedure. So I threw up a couple of times and then I felt fine. I received wet oxygen and ice packs on for my cheeks and went back to sleep.

I did not use the pain pump, I didn't need it. Jeff left and I went in and out of sleep during the night. It certainly wasn't easy getting out of bed those first hours. Everytime I had to go to the bathroom, I had to ask for assistance. It was a production to take off the leg equipment and to unplug the IV. And I was completely mortified at how I looked. My face was swollen and my lower lip was huge. I couldn't imagine that I would ever look normal again. Thank goodness Jeff was there to assure me it would be okay. I could not have made it through this without him.

The next morning I turned on the TV. I was really tired since the aids woke me every half hour to take my vitals. The breaking story was the Esperanza fire. It was really terrible news and I watched it continue on throughout the day. Four firefighters (later 5) lost their lives.

During the day developed a fever. Nurse Barbara told me I had to sit up, take deep breaths and cough, that the fever was an indication of infection in my lungs. Another small complication was that my blood pressure, which is normally low, was really low. One aid was particularly concerned and he ended up raising my legs to improve my blood pressure. When Dr. K came to see me that day, he said I would be released the next day. Which meant a second night in the hospital.

That night my lower lip really started to burn. That was pretty much the only pain I had. What I really minded more was the numbness. And that I could barely brush my teeth as I had rubberbands on my eyeteeth. I had a big bandage across my face and so it was hard to wash my face as well. And one thing is for sure -- I really do not like being in a hospital. But the nurses assistants were the best! The food on the other hand was really pretty bad. It didn't dawn on me what my diet would be like until brakfast showed up. Clear broth and apple juice!

When I got home, Jeff started cooking up a storm of soups and I spent a lot of time on the sofa sleeping. By then my mouth started waking up and I started having a lot of pain. I didn't mind it because I knew it was an indication that I was beginning to heal. But I didn't expect to be so tired. Even today at Day 13 I am still feeling tired. Here's another picture of me during my recovery process.