Surgery day!

My surgery involved having my bottom jaw brought forward to meet my front teeth (~12mm) and my top jaw taken upwards ~4mm (so top lip covers gum). I also had all 4 wisdom teeth taken out at the same time as they were in the way. I had a pre-op appointment on 20th March where they checked my BMI, did blood and MRSA testing, and did an ECG. They found I had a heart murmur and I had to have a heart scan but all turned out ok.

Surgery date - 19th April 2018 (before surgery I had had braces for 2 and a bit years)
I was surprisingly less nervous than I thought I would be on surgery day - I think because I had waited soooooo long and was desperate to get it done. Typically, my surgery day was also the hottest day of the year so far😧. I went in to hospital at half 7 in the morning, where they checked my weight, blood, details and gave me a gown. Then I went through to theatre at 10 o'clock, got my IV and went straight to sleep!

The last thing I remember is waking up at about 5pm in recovery - the op is only meant to be 4-5 hours so I must have been in there for a while! Apparently I giggled a lot in recovery, but I cannot remember this!! I was then wheeled to my ward where my mum was waiting for me😊. All in all, the actual surgery was more pleasant than I thought it would be. I mostly felt fine that evening too, but I did feel very sick/dizzy/hot the first time I got up to go to the toilet - I would recommend taking a wheelchair first time. That evening I managed to drink a smoothie and a little bit of ice cream (through a straw!) At this point, it was my throat that hurt the most (as they put a breathing tube down your throat when you're sleeping) and it was painful to swallow. There were elastic bands on both sides of my mouth and a big one across the front, keeping my upper and lower jaw together.

Trying to smile

Wisdom teeth!

Drinking my first smoothie!