Day 65-Before/after Official photos.

Hey Guys,

Here are some official before/after photos given to me by my Orthodontist this week. I really can't believe the differences in my face height, shape and profile, It is quite extraordinary to know that I will never look like that before picture ever again. I am so glad the Genioplasty was part of my surgery. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is unhappy with their recessed chin and set back, vertically growing bottom jaw.

I actually feel conformable with my 'relaxed' face now. It is SOOOOO less strained, and angry looking. I feel normal and with peace at how my face is at rest. I'm at the point now where I can sit and be in the company of others without constantly being self conscious and uncomfortable with my profile and face straining. I went for an interview for an Internship in Sydney yesterday and the whole time while the interviewer was talking and looking at me face on, I felt ok and was not stressing about how I looked. I was initially worried about my braces being a hindrance in getting this position, but apparently it wasn't an issue at all because I got the Internship and start next week :-) l really like the fact that my life at the moment is really hectic with work, my studies and starting this internship. Being busy will help me to focus my attention on something different then the surgery and will make recovery and the time I have to wait to get these braces off go a lot quicker. I still think about the surgery every day but I am glad I have some normality back in my life now.

My lips FINALLY come together now. I don't have to think about them when my face is at rest because they naturally just want to come together. I don't think I have 100% lip competence back yet, but I am really happy with how they comfortably meet, without me having to force them like pre surgery. It's amazing how you stress and worry for weeks about certain things like lips not correctly meeting and then one day they just DO!! Recovery is one HUGE waiting game and patience is very much the key!!! I am generally not very good at being patient, so this has been my biggest challenge... WAITING WAITING WAITING to see the improvements.

My bottom lip and gums are still numb in areas, and parts of my chin are without complete feeling. I still think my smile slants up more on one side, but looking back at old photos, I definitely know that this was the same pre surgery and I guess It wasn't as noticeable to me as my severe open bite was. My surgeon agrees that I still have a substantial amount of smaller changes to go through before I am completely recovered from this surgery. It can take up to 12 months for soft tissue to heal, so I am hoping and praying that in the next few months to come, everything will just settle well and that I'll be very happy with the end results. I can't wait to, have my braces off and really see my new bite in all its glory!

I finally got a chance to ask my Surgeon the reasons for not having proper contact on my back molers. I asked if there was a reason for it, and he said it was actually done on purpose. He discussed the same reasons why as Danny described in one of her earlier posts. Basically the back molers have too much negative force and control over your bite becoming unstable and shifting. He said they in the years to come, it will actually be more beneficial for them not to touch completely like they did pre surgery. It will help prevent them grinding down on each-other and cause bite discrepancy. He also said my orthodontist still has some slight tweaking to do with my teeth/bite but everything is coming along nicely so I should be happy.

Click to enlarge photo.

The after photos were taken only at 1month post op, so I actually still felt very swollen and tight at that stage. My lips were forced closed but in comparison to the before pictures, they are worlds apart in difference.

It will be very exciting to compare the before photo with a post 12month photo :)

Day 55- A video update finally!!!

Here is a video.. FINALLY!!! and some more photos. 8 weeks since surgery tomorrow :)

Sydney is experiencing it coldest and wettest July in 33 years! brrrrr It has been a cold winter.

Another great example of my before and after! Man!!! what a difference..

My bottom lip has significantly decreased in swelling and numbness. Finally starting to feel more natural and less dead and puffy. I don't have any puckering in my chin anymore when I put my lips together at rest. Thank God! Swelling in the bottom portion of my cheeks has gone down even more in the last week. I have started taking a Ibuprofen in the morning and it's really helping.

Day 49- 7 weeks post op

7 Weeks post op!!!!

Just got home from my first day shift back at work... haha here I am in my work uniform.

Sorry I've been meaning to share with you guys a video of my recovery, but I'm having troubles getting it to upload, so hopefully it will be up by tomorrow's post :)

Tina, to make you feel better I also have a slight cant in my smile. (Tilts up more on one side). Looking back at photos, I believe I did have one before surgery, but It obviously didn't bother me that much, because I never brought it up with my surgeon pre surgery, asking if he would fix it. Although you would think that he would have noticed there was a slight discrepancy in my occlusal plane and corrected it regardless. humph!! So many things I now wish I had discussed with him a bit further. I will mention it at our next appointment, along with the issue of my tongue thrusting, molars not making contact, TMJ pain and my lip incompetence. I also talk slightly crooked at the moment too, but surely this is because of the tight muscles and numbness in my lips and around my chin? Anyone else talking crooked?

Does it sound like I'm being slightly paranoid about these things?? Sorry, I don't mean to sound so negative, I am mostly VERY happy with the results of my surgery, there are just a few things still nagging at me. I guess I just want to be reassured that everything is going ok. It's been awhile since I've seem my surgeon, so I'm really hanging out for out next appointment together on 27th july. I will bombard him with my questions and expect some positive answers! haha

Notice the slight cant?

Day 38

I have had a fairly normal weekend. I went out on Saturday for lunch with a bunch of girls from high school. There were a few girls there that I had not seen in a long time. They were aware of my surgery through talking to my others close friends, but really didn't know much about it. A few asked questions. One of the girls asked me, "Wow so how much did all that cost?" I thought that was slightly rude and inappropriate to ask, especially when I wouldn't regard her as one of my closest friends.

Has anyone else been asked about the cost of their surgery?? Personally I don't really like discussing it with people, it's not important for them to know.

I thought it was interesting that a friend also mentioned that I spoke differently, like more refined and clear, weird!! I didn't wear any of my elastics, so that may have helped with me sounding normal. I find it difficult talking with my mouth and lips still being stiff, but apparently everyone can hear and understand me perfectly. For lunch I ordered a chicken caesar salad. Didn't want to eat something messy or requiring a lot of effort. Bad decision!!! This salad was HUGE and I actually found the coss lettuce hard to eat, so I kinda just picked around eating a bit of the chicken, cheese and bacon. I left so much of it, felt bad but it really could have fed 3 people easily.

Swelling: I still have some swelling around my nose, chin and directly under my bottom lip. I'm sure there is still some swelling in my cheeks, it just isn't heaps noticeable anymore. Or maybe I am getting used to how I look, because there doesn't seem to be as much obvious change happening at the moment. surely this is NOT the final result for me!!

Anyways It will be interesting to watch over the next few months to see what happens with my cheeks, smile and jaw line. I am hoping my smile improves. It feels goofy and not very natural.

Numbing: There are areas on the roof of my mouth, directly near my top front teeth, which are still numb. Gums are VERY numb. I was poking my upper gum quite hard and I couldn't feel anything :(

Lips: Bottom lip doesn't look swollen, but it feel very puffy, sore and numb. I watched a Genioplasty video on Youtube out of curiosity, and I have seen what they do to your bottom lip in order to get access to the chin bone. OUCH!!! That poor lip is stretched to it absolute maximum, so no wonder it's still sore and numb.

Top lip feels fine but does sit out further then I would like. The braces don't help of course. Lips still don't meet at rest. I am trying not to stress over it until after 2 months post op. I will mention something to my OS at our next appointment, end of July if It hasn't improved at all by then.

Pain: Waking up with TMJ pain and sore ear drums. I am OVER it and hope it subsides soon.

Eating: Eating mostly anything, besides really hard things that require a lot of chewing. I eat a fair bit of chicken and tender meat (cut up), pasta and rice dishes, fish, steamed vegetables, toast, bread, yogurt, eggs and fruit.

I love breakfast as I find there are so many different soft food options I can choose from. I can eat cereal, porridge, crumpets, pancakes, baked beans, eggs and bacon, fruit and yogurt. I always look forward to breakfast. I am trying to be healthy, but I have taken advantage of eating soft "sweet" things too, like banana bread, muffins, cakes and chocolate ice-cream. I might need to start eliminating these out of my post surgery diet soon :( haha