Bilateral intraoral surgery complete!

Well my day finally came. I had my surgery at UAMS Little Rock Arkansas. I cannot say enough about the care and compassion I recieved from the entire team of staff, nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons.

I will give a few details of my experience in case anyone is considering surgery and looking for information. I hope this can help.

The surgery took just under 2 hours and I was on my way home about 2 hours later.

I felt great during my 3 hour drive home. Oddly awake and alert. Then the swelling hit about 10 that night and i couldn’t swollow. The Doctor had me start taking motrin and Tylenol on top of the pain medicine and that got the swelling down to where I could swallow again…even though it was still very painful to do it.

I have been able to speak very little since the surgery. Partly because I am actually physically unable to do so and partly because it is painful to do so. The doctor told us before the surgery to expect this so we were prepared for it.

The doctor also told us I might have pain in my ears due to the surgery, which I have had but only briefly.

All in all I will admit that bilateral intraoral surigery is not for the faint of heart, but it is doable. This is post surgery day two. My throat is still very raw and painful, sleeping is difficult but I am sleeping most of the day so I think I am getting enough. It seems like every time I nod off my airway closes up and I get startled awake. My husband says I am snoring worse than Oscar the Grouch. Again, the doctor says this will pass as I heal from the trauma of surgery.

Staying hydrated and nourished has been my main concern while I am awake. Infused water and high calorie meal replacement shakes are what I am drinking along with cold homemade bone broth I made in bulk before the surgery. The broth is very soothing. I am so glad I made the broth. The infused water is just water with Thyme, elderberry, and peppermint. Good for you and more interesting than just water. Everything cold!

Ice is something I had planned on having to suck on to soothe my throat but that is not working for me because my tongue is not exactly working all that well. That is just my personal experience though.

As far as symptom relief, I think it is too early to say for sure but one thing I have noticed is the absence of the constant pain and pressure in my left jaw under the ear. That was the one pain I was most hoping to get rid of. So if it really is gone for good, this surgery will have been worth it.

One more thing I want to mention is that as soon as I had my bearings after surgery I started to do jaw and tongue stretching exercises. I think that that has really helped me to regain range of motion quickly, not allowing them to stay locked up.

Let me know if there are any questions I can answer.

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So pleased that you’ve had your surgery, intra-oral is definitely tough to recover from, but it sounds like you were expecting that…I hope that the pain & pressure in your jaw stays gone! Swelling does seem to peak at around 3-5 days, so you may have a couple of rough days ahead, just to be aware.
Take care of yourself and praying for a good recovery :hugs: :pray: :bouquet:

Hi Duckie!

I’m so glad the surgery is behind you! Are you sleeping w/ your head elevated? I had the same sensation post op that my airway was being shut off when my throat was very swollen. Sleeping w/ about 30º of head elevation helped reduce that plus a post op course of prednisone for 10-14 days was a life saver. It does sound like you’ve got the throat swelling under better control right now, but as Jules said, the greatest post op swelling occurs on days 3-5 post op. Icing your neck from the outside could be helpful, too.