Surgery #2

Hello Everyone!

I am sorry for being MIA for so long and giving no updates. As for my TMJ surgery- ya girl is 100% good! Dr. Piper did bring up the option of a sliding genioplasty. He said it was not absolutely necessary, but it would make my airway bigger and reduce my chances of getting sleep apnea, PLUS I would get a chin (that balanced out my face) out of the deal... so I mean why would I say no? 

I did receive this surgery in July 2018, so a little over a year ago and I am very satisfied with the results. I will break down how this surgery works down below. 

The Sliding Genioplasty

So, once again I would like to preface that this was a completely optional surgery for me. I chose to go through with it because it would increase my quality of life then and in the future. 

This surgery concept-wise is very simple. The way the sliding genioplasty works is Dr. Piper will take measurements to see where the best placement for the chin will be in regards to the structure of your face. The procedure is only about 1 1/2 hours long. He will make an incision on your bottom gums, where you can't even see them, then they will saw the bone in half and slide it forward to the recalculated measurements and anchor the bone in the place. You also don't have to wear that beautiful mouth piece!

Simple right? 

Unfortunately for me, Florida has passed a new opioid law to where a patient (who isn't a chronic pain patient) can only get 3 days worth of pain medications, and if necessary- a 4 day acute pain extension. Let me tell how bad this sucked. I am not going to sugar coat the situation, but this surgery was much more painful the the TMJ surgery, which was surprising to me. My post-op experience was also quite interesting. In the PACU, I was in tachycardia and I overheard one of the nurses when I came around for short second that I chocked on my own blood. Lovely. This surgery actually sucked. This is of no fault of Dr. Piper and his team, they were magnificent as always... but man. I would also like to note this. My nurse for this surgery was one of the best nurses I have ever had. I had a little fashion show with the TED hose she gave me. I was not "anxious" about the surgery or anything, but she really calmed my nerves and made me forget what was about to happen to my face.

ANYWAY

Though getting through the surgery was an extremely rough process, I felt an almost immediate difference in my airway. I feel like I can pass more are through my airway and my breathing episodes decreases a ton! Also, this surgery gave be a confidence boost because now I am satisfied with my side profile and my face in general. 

This surgery is not for everyone. I would not recommend doing it unless you need to. My main reasoning for doing this surgery was for my airway, the side profile was just a bonus. 

Once again, if any of you have any questions, you can go to my previous post and I have my Facebook linked. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions. 

This will probably be my final post, so I hope if you are taking this journey that all will go perfectly! 

All the best,

Olivia Fulton

15 months post-op!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I haven't been on in awhile. I had been super busy with school, graduation, college and other medical things. SO July 2, 2017 I had my 15 month post-op appointment with Dr. Piper and..

MY TMJ LOOKS PERFECT!

I was overwhelmed with happiness because it has been a long journey here, but it was all worth it!

Now, I still possess the issue of my mandibles been undersized and my receded chin, so he has suggested to me another surgery, which would also open my airway a little bit. Due to my receded chin, my air is slightly smaller, Dr. Piper says my airway is jut "adequate" which I feel is a crappy word to describe an airway. I am hoping to receive more information from him soon as we did not go into great detail about the surgery while I was there. This may be another surgery I will most likely me having in the near future. Unfortunately, its not an easy peasy surgery, its a fairly major surgery. From my understanding the will saw my jaw on both sides, bring it forward, and use plates and screws to hold it together. Im not as scared as I thought I would be because I would have the amazing Dr. Piper as my surgeon again, so I know I am good hands.
If after reading my posts and still are unsure or have questions, feel free to reach out to me via Facebook and shoot me a message. I will have it linked below :)

Olivia Fulton)

I will say, you will never find a better surgeon and staff than Dr. Piper and his team. They are with you every step of the way. My life has improved so much since my surgery. Before my jaw would lock shut on both sides, I was barely able to eat and in constant pain. Now I am able to eat all my favorite foods and NO MORE PAIN!
There may be a new blog journey in the future, if I choose to go through a 2nd round of surgery, but I hope some of you found this helpful :)

Until later,
Olivia Fulton

Months 1-3

Sorry for not posting for awhile... but I'm back!

I will give you an overview of the first 4 days since I didn't do that and that was the worse. Basically I was knocked out a majority of those 4 days since I was crazy sensitive to all the medicine (I broke the 1 hour nap rule... oops) Anyway, I was having trouble swallowing because my throat was so sore. At first we thought it was from the incubation everything I tried drinking just burned(turned out to be thrush). On the 4th day was the day I got to see Dr.Piper and have my splint removed.. unfortunately on the way there I just threw up.. a lot. I was severely dehydrated and I had not had much nutrition. Pretty much once my splint was removed he forced me to drink a boost ( even though it burned like crazy) otherwise he would send me back to the hospital. On the more positive side I FINALLY got to brush my teeth! They also taught me how to do the therabite and jiggle excursus. It was intimidating at first because i thought it would hurt, but it wasn't bad at all. They also show you how to put your rubber bands on... Fair warning you will snap yourself in the lip a million times (Im almost 3 months post-op and still do) but you'll get the hang of it. Afterwards we took a visit to Dr. Hobbs and I got to experience the magical table... its amazing! The entire week pretty much consisted of the same thing seeing Dr.Piper to make sure things were going well and seeing Dr.Hobbs. I even got to leave a day early! 

First 3 months

During the first month it was hard getting into the swing of things and getting used to the new lifestyle. My parents put me on hospital homebound for school because muscle relaxers + me + school= no good. My time gradually went up from 15 min to 30 min to 45 min and now I am at an hour break. I started going back to school for my AP class and math. I am fortunate enough to go to such an amazing school, they let me go to my prom. My 3 month appt is coming up (June 2016) and I am only on muscle relaxers now and on the 5th peg of my terabite with 1 hour breaks 5x a day. I have been amazed by what this surgery had done. Its so neat to feel my jaw move smoothly when I open and close and not have it pop. If you are debating this surgery I would 10/10 recommend it! The staff is absolutely AMAZING both in his office and the surgical team. It makes the biggest difference. It was more than I could possible imagine. I will update how my 3 month appt goes!!

Pre/Post- Op

March 10, 2016

Today is the big day! Today I am having a bilateral disc repair with a possible fat graft on the right side but he is trying to avoid that to the best of his abilities. I am also having 6 wisdom removed. I have full faith in Dr. Piper and his teams abilities. We went to the hospital at 530 am since my surgery was at 730. I went into pre-op and they put me in a gown with compression tights. The nurse also put my IV in and gave me some nasal spray. I was then rolled back to another pre-op room where I met some of my nurses and the anesthesiologist. I will not lie I was terrified and crying. But the nurses were amazing at calming me down and making me as comfortable as possible. The last think I remember is giving my mom a hug goodbye. Then I was out like a light...

Post -Op

I woke up in the PACU (recovery) I thought I had just dozed off before going into the operating room. I had no idea I just had my surgery and I tried moving my mouth and I was like HOLY CANNOLI!  I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had ice packs on my face along with nasal air tubes and a humidifier mask is what I think it was. It made my day to get my phone and see all the text messages I got from people. The way the surgery went it he could repair BOTH discs! No fat graft for me.. YAY! We chilled in the recovery room for about 2 hours. Then I got to go to my room and meet my fantastic nurse! *Side note: the entire staff was amazing I don't think I would done as well without them, they were truly amazing!

I got to my room around 330 pm and I had to start walking at 4. The first walk was the hardest my legs were very wobbly and I was dizzy. I did begin to throw up a little before and after the walk. It was fine .  *side note: even if you are not feeling like you're going to throw up get the medication on board right away, I felt fine when she asked the first time then I felt sick to my stomach. But if you do throw up don't worry it wont bother the repairs, it will just feel a little weird. Plus your nurse will be on stand by with suction to help get it our of your mouth. I then made sure I walked every 30 minutes I promise you it makes all the difference in the world! In between walk I did keep falling asleep. I was 100% out of it. Before every walk my nurse and my mom had to yell and shake at me every time!  Even the friend I made had the surgery the same day and we got rooms next to each other, which was nice we just threw thumbs at each other to see how we were doing. I had to keep walking until 11pm and then I was done.. As soon as I sat down I passed out.

Me enjoying the messages everyone sent :)

Now the journey of recovery begins...

Pre-op appointments

March 3, 2016

Today I got my surgical braces on by Dr. Liz. I did not use Dr. Jackson since there was a dentist near I lived that worked with Dr. Piper. I was not too excited about having braces again, but what are you going to do? While I was there I met a girl who was 9 months post-op and we exchanged numbers and told about a blog and a group on facebook that were really helpful to her. I just got added to the group and everyone on there is extremely helpful. That same day we were off to St. Pete for my exciting journey.

The horrid photos begin......

March 4, 2016

Today was my first pre-op appointment at the Piper Clinic. Today they just took more molds for my splint and his PA did exams, we re-read over some of my history and added some new things. We also went over the outline of what to expect for surgery and what they expect from YOU. He told me he is really going to harp on me with my breathing exercises since I had pneumonia this past November. They expect you to be up and walking within an hour once you get to your room and also to start drinking. They do not care if you feel nausea YOU WILL WALK!! They will measure your fluid output to make sure you are drinking enough and not too dehydrated.
After we were done my mom and I went to South St. Pete Beach and had some lunch. It was a little restaurant on the water. Their food was delicious and the water was gorgeous!

 

 

March 5 , 2016

Today is a Saturday, which is also the day I decided to make this blog! :)

My mom and I just went to the store to my some food that I may want to eat. I'll link some down below. A majority of my recipes have either potatoes, broccoli, cheese and/or cauliflower. But do whatever you may think will work best for you.

 

Fluffy Jello

Broccoli, Cheese and Potato Puree

 

 

Panera Homemade Baked Potato Soup

 

 

Smoothies and milkshakes are good too. Just be careful if you are having teeth extracted- do not use a straw for at least a week or two. Also be careful with seeds as they make get stuck in the sockets.

 

March 6, 2016

Today my mom and I went to the International shopping plaza in downtown Tampa. It has almost every store imaginable! We went to get some stuff that will be comfortable and soft in case I get a fat graft, since the incision will be very low on my stomach, jeans and other things will probably not feel to well.

Make most of your trip here. Do some fun things to help keep your mind off the up-coming surgery, especially if you're an anxious person like I am. If you are a "foreigner" to the area, google some places you may want to go, especially after your surgery since you have to go do stuff and walk around. *don't do anything too massive as you will still be on a lot of medicine.

March 7, 2016

Today is my visit with Dr. Piper (8 am). Today he just fit me for my splint and made any adjustments that needed to be made. Don also showed me how to take my front rubber bands off in case I needed to take them off for any reason. I also met a lady who was 9 months pre op and gave me and another girl *she is having surgery the same day as me* I met some tips and how she was doing.Afterwards my mom and I went the Art district of St. Pete and ate at The Dome ( their food is delicious!) Then I went on my first college tour of USFSP.

March 8, 2016

Today is my visit with the Chiropractor, which I am most excited about.  I am hoping he will be able to help with my neck pain. Because of my jaw being funky my neck is straighter than it should be, it is not as curved, so I have a lot pain. Dr. Hobbs was great. We did some exercises with my neck on the table he has in his office. I will  not lie it hurt quite a bit. Afterwards we went to lay on another table which had a heating pad on it and a neck pillow. He applied some patched on my back which sent electric pulses down my back and I lied down on the table, he turned on the patches and they feel pretty weird and then magic happened.. there is a roller underneath the table and rolled out my back it felt amazing! We picked up my prescriptions afterwards...*there are a lot... Tomorrow I get my labs done at talk to the PACU nurse. Then we pack are bags and off to the hotel.

 

March 9, 2016 

HAPPY SURGERY EVE!! Today I am getting my pre-op labs done and making sure everything is set and ready to go! Tonight we are staying at a hotel near the hospital since I have to be there at 5:30 am *My surgery is at 7:30 am. I am getting super anxious and nervous, but excited at the same time. I know Dr. Piper will take good care of me. So off to bed for me :)