My Big Fat Italian Chin

Went to see the doctor today for the swelling that I had underneath my chin. It seemed to get more red over night. Dr B saw it and was mildly concern since I have a great track record of infections. I told him that I was not given a prescription for antibiotic and just have been rinsing my mouth with saline solution and a medical rinse given my Dr Sinada's office for the implants. He advised me to stated taken antibiotics which he prescribed and to see him in 10 days. He also said if the swelling increased to give him a call ASAP. Don't worry Doc, your on the top of my list.

I also had a appointment to see Dr Sinada for my implants. He was very pleased by the way they looked and took an X-ray of them.
He showed me and I took a quick picture of it. The game plan from here is to let the implants screws settle. In about 3 to 4 months he can then proceed with the next step which is either permanent teeth or a denture like prosthetic that I would be able to remove at night. I asked him for the cost of both as I did not think my insured would cover this. He states this billing department would keep me informed so I can make an educated decision. At this point all bills have been processed under medical.

I went home wearing the temporary prosthetic he gave me last week. He just smoothed them down to help make the fit better. I can start chewing on the right side now but he recommended soft food for now. The only issued I had was swallowing. Ever time I swallowed I would get a sharp pain under my chin. I was not sure if it was the prosthetic acting as a suction and causing the pain or if it was the swelling or both. When I got home I took them out and did not wear them since.
One step at a time. I have to take care of this stupid swelling first. Then I can think about my new fake teeth.

I knew it,

Its been 5 days since my surgery and you guessed it I got an infection. My face is fine one both sides but right under my chin I swelled. You can see the redness on the right side just above where the stitches are. Good thing I am going to the doctors tomorrow. I just hope that he does not have to reopen the stitches. I would hate to have it happen everytime my face swells up. But I know this was going to happen. Heck I got an infection like a million times. I just hope its only because of the surgery and not the plate.

I am out of Surgery

Today I had surgery. Wished I could say it went smooth but... My mom and I got to the hospital around 5:00 am. We went to the Weinberg building where I had my first surgery and the letter I got from Doctor B's office stated that is where I needed to be. To my dismay I was not scheduled there. I was to be at the Outpatient building. I was a little miffed. It's stressful enough the day of surgery I don't need more aggravation. Regardless the nurse was very nice and she apologized 10 times for the mixed up. I told her it was not her fault. But I will let the office know.

When I got called back to the pre-op room I went through the usually bought of questions the the nurse asks: Are you pregnant? What are you allergic to? When did you last eat? etc... I must have been confused as I kept thinking this is not a very private area where they are going to perform the surgery. DUH LAURA its pre op. Dr B came back and told me what he was goig to do: Close the fistula and re buff so to speak my scar around my neck. I did not see Dr S for the implants and wondered if he was even going to be there but I saw this resident Dr R and he reasured me Dr S would be present. Any way they walked me back to the operating room where they stuck this and that to be. Then I was out. I work up about 2 hours later in the recovery room felling awful. I was so out of it and cold. They gave me drugs ease my pain and then took me to station two to get ready to discharge. I was so cold at this point that when my brought my mom back I busted into tears. My mom was like what happened? I told her I was cold and the nurse brought over three warm blanket. Much better.

The nurse went over discharge instructions very quickly? I had to ask her to repeat that like 10 times. She was not very friendly and my mom agreed. Wished I smacked her. But Dr B came back and verbally went over everything as well and Dr R. Now they did not give me any antibiotic since I was about allergic to almost of them and the ones that I am not give me c-diff. I don't think this was a wise choice based on my based record but they did give me an oral rinse. We will see what happens. I am staying at a local hotel in Baltimore before I head back to NJ just in case.

I have two weeks of rest and recover to go through and then back to work. Here is hoping this is all over with.

Its almost time

This week is my surgery date. But I am worried because when I went to Disney last week I got sick. Very sick. Not for Amelo but the common cold. Either I got it on the plane down or by some random kid. The people who worked at Disney said it was going around. Not what I needed one week out before surgery. I was worried the Doctor would cancel my date. Well I would find that out tomorrow.

Doctor looked at me and was pleased the swelling did not come back. Looks like the glue worked and the hole inside my mouth has closed. I could not even tell there was a hole. It healed nicely. He could tell I was sick and was pleased that I came down anyway since to see him. He reassured me that as long as I did not have a fever it was ok. I did not. Just to advised the anesthesiologist that I was sick.

The plate would remain. If this did not work then they would have no other choice. Here is hoping.

I called my Oral surgeon to confirm my appointment for Friday for the Doctor to start the implant process. To my horror I was told the doctor was not in and is out till next week. I was very very very very upset on the phone when I was told of this. Let just say some not so nice words were said. I should know better but hey, I have surgery. My nerves are already raw. His office said they would call and get back to me to see what happened. Long story short the doctor would be in on Friday for just for my surgery. But he was indeed out of the office to everyone else. Don't I feel special. Just wished they said that from the get go before I got mental... oh I mean disheartening.

So there you have it. In a few days I will be back on the surgical table at JH. My third surgery. I know I will just be starting the implant process but I hope that it will be the end of my reconstruction end.