Things are moving at last! Today we met with our new surgeon, Dr C, who was very easy to talk to, and got the ball rolling. We had already had the surgery approved by the insurance company back in November with our previous surgeon, Dr T, but he had to back out for reasons too long to explain and he sent us to Dr C, his former partner. Dr C will now contact the insurance company for the official approval for HIM to do the surgery, which he said is a formality and could take a week or less.
Basically, he will cut Brian's upper jaw loose, through his sinuses, and move it forward 8 mm and tilt it down just a little. Then they will cut his lower jaw (a chisel was mentioned at some point) and move it also forward and down a little. They will cut a square of bone from his chin where his tongue attaches and pull it forward a little and screw it into place to move his tongue forward.
Dr C told Brian that he will be in pain, but most people feel much better in that regard within 48 hours. However, he said "You WILL be miserable for a week. Your mouth will be gunky and gross, your throat will hurt, you'll be drooling, you'll be swollen, and you'll wonder why you ever decided to do this. You'll be thinking 'just shoot me now.' But you're not doing this to feel good for a couple of weeks, you are doing this to feel better for the rest of your life."
On the bright side, his jaws will NOT be wired shut! They'll be securely rubber-banded shut, so he'll be able to open his mouth a little, but he won't be able to chew anything for several weeks. It will be liquid-only for a week or so, then he can work up to yogurt, mashed potatoes, etc.
As I'm typing this, Brian is on his way to get some kind of CT scan of his head, which Dr C will use to build a 3D computer module of what they want to do during the surgery.
And...now we wait, again, until the insurance company responds and we can set a date and find out what hospital we'll be scheduled at.
Tonight, it's steak for dinner!
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