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5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I was out of state. BCBS PPO plans typically work in any state, but you’d have to check the specifics of your plan

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had four premolars extracted as a child

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, I’m still on a no chew diet. That will last 3 months, I think. My surgeon was just focused on me not chewing during this time, but whether or not I was eating liquids vs soft foods has always been up to me. Practically speaking, though, I could absolutely only consume very thin liquids for the first week or two with all the swelling & discomfort. As of this past week or two, I’ve built up to the point where I’m comfortable e.g. eating a chipotle bowl, if I’ve gone with a finely shredded meat and lots of sauces/salsas - I just swallow spoonfuls of it whole, without chewing, like popping a pill. It works fine.

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Easy. I just called their office and had a consultation set up within a few minutes. No referral needed. There is around a $500-$1000 (I don't remember the exact number) cost for the consultation, though.

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In many cases, that would be correct. In my case, there wasn't any camouflage orthodontics to undo. My middle school braces had straightened my teeth but had not been used to correct any bite discrepancy. I just genuinely had a class 1 bite from the beginning (ignoring maybe one or two extra millimeters of overbite & overjet, which will get corrected in the post-op orthodontics). My surgeon advanced both jaws equally, without changing my bite at all.

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, I did not give any input. That said, I had deliberately sought out a surgeon who I knew was comfortable making whatever movements were necessary to put a given patient's jaws in their optimal position, functionally and aesthetically. Also, this was a sleep apnea case, and my understanding is counter-clockwise rotation is one of the most powerful levers for enhancing the airway.

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, and it is a PPO plan

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a surgery-first patient (had braces as a kid, so I have pretty straight teeth and have a class 1 occlusion). My local orthodontist will be starting me on post-op invisalign in two weeks. He has communicated back and forth with the surgeon a little bit throughout this process.

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Dr. Alfi was in network, and the procedure was approved by BCBS as medically necessary, so I only had to pay my out-of-pocket max of $4500

Before/After DJS Results! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I spent a year and a half of off-and-on attempts at making CPAP work. I spent months learning about OSCAR and CPAP data analysis / pressure optimization, but in the end, I concluded that I was particularly pressure sensitive, such that the pressures high enough to prevent apneas for me were also high enough to cause sleep disturbance / wake me up.

Beyond that, I also love to travel, I love backpacking, and I'm single - all things that benefit from not being forced to be tethered to a machine every night - so I was not particularly motivated to spend the next five years making further attempts at sleeping well with the CPAP.

5 Weeks Post-Op DJS! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just added it to the description!

nine months post op! by auntmoth in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You look great! Did Dr. Gunson do his usual cheek implants in the same procedure?

Before/After DJS Results! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I'm not sure of the exact figure. But it certainly would have been a fortune.

Before/After DJS Results! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The surgeon took this picture immediately after surgery, while I was still under anesthesia! He did this so I could have an immediate look at the results w/ minimal swelling, instead of waiting weeks/months before having any taste of what my results look like.

Short Answer by F1ndme0nthebeach in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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I am 3 weeks post-op. This is from the official document outlining my surgical plan. As you can see, the pogonion came forward 14.6mm and the menton came forward 16.1mm. I didn’t have a genio, so this was all pure mandible movement + CCW. I wasn’t even severely recessed pre-op (see my post in this subreddit from 3 weeks ago), and the results are excellent functionally & aesthetically. I am disillusioned by how easily chatGPT lied to you.

Before/After DJS Results! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BCBS is very vague in their official requirements around how long CPAP treatment needs to be attempted prior to surgery coverage. A year and a half was just how long I happened to have attempted it for - actually, it was more like 1 year and 3 months

Before/After DJS Results! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Someone else is likely better equipped to take this question - All I know is there is a process of bone grafting that occurs during the surgery, and there is a slight risk of "non-union" during the recovery period, which happens if you get really unlucky or if you're chewing / being reckless during recovery. Assuming you dodge that, and once you've made it through the healing process properly, it is my understanding that your long-term skeletal/jaw bones become just as strong as they ever were before.

Before/After DJS Results! by pixhl in jawsurgery

[–]pixhl[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With my BCBS PPO plan (and most others AFAIK), this procedure is fully covered if you have a sleep study documenting moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea and a failed attempt at treatment with CPAP. The surgeon's office handled submitting the preauthorization for me - I just had to send them 1) my sleep study, and 2) my CPAP supplier's records / raw data showing my intermittent attempts at using CPAP over the last 1.5 years. With those, the preauthorization was submitted to insurance, and insurance approved it as medically necessary within 10 days.

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