Post ES surgery recovery time

Hi!
I am new to the group, not new to ES, was diagnosed 2 years back. Got the surgery (Dr. Samji) done just 10 days back… I am still in the recovery process, like to hear others recovery process -
I am going thru following issues, wondering if this is all course of recovery or getting into a new issue -

  • The right side ( surgery site) - of my face, ear is still numb.
  • When I chew even the soft stuff like pasta , having severe pain in the jaw movement and also pain in my right eye!
  • my right ear has very little sensation , Dr said during my postop appt.- that earlobe may remain numb!! which was a shock, did not know this is one of the outcome of the surgery/
  • Chin and Jaw area is hurting with burning sensation
  • Also, I still have tape on the incision area, is it okay to put water and soap in the area ( Dr. said its fine) but I am sort of paranoid that if this will cause any infection on my incision area.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi!
I think all sounds pretty normal so far; it’s still early days really! My jaw & ear area were very numb to start with- it’s not quite normal, but I’ll take numbness over pain any day. The nerves get stretched during surgery, so numbness or tingling are quite common. As nerves recover, they can cause itching, tingling or burning, I’m sure that will improve with time. Also first bite syndrome can be quite common after surgery- it’s a sharp pain in the cheek area when you start to eat. It was uncomfortable to eat after my first surgery; I couldn’t open my mouth wide, it improved 10-14 days after surgery. Some members have had problems with their jaw after surgery because of intubation, especially if they already had jaw issues.
I can’t say much about the incision, but if the doctor’s said it’s okay, then it should be fine.
I hope that you’ve seen an improvement in some ES symptoms, but all very normal for it to take a while- we have had some members who’ve found improvements even a year after surgery! Nerves can commonly take months to heal, so be patient! I hope that you keep healing well, God bless :hugs:

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Hi. I’m almost 6 weeks out from surgery with Dr. Samji, right side.

While I don’t have a numb ear or face I am still numb from the incision to my jaw. I expect it may always be that way.

Your pain with eating sounds like first bite which I also got. It happens when I drink something with flavor as well. What helps is to start chewing on the opposite side and ease into using both sides. I have found cheese and fruit to be the most painful.

You can definitely get the tape wet at this point. It will help it to come off.

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Thank you all for the detail reply. Finger crossed! really hoping numbness and pain goes off after 4/6 weeks. Anyone faced eye pain too? I am really concerning if there is any side effect on eyes.

nmdne,

Your eye pain is possibly referred pain from your fist bite syndrome or the facial &/or trigeminal nerve which probably got a bit more irritated by surgery. I expect that as those nerves heal the eye pain will gradually disappear too. It took 6-9 months for some of my nerve pain to fully heal & beyond that for my first bite syndrome to be less painful. In addition to what one_day has noted, I found staying very hydrated (60-80 oz of water/day) so my saliva was more dilute also helped.

I’m 6.5 yrs out from my first surgery & still have some numbness along my jawline. I don’t notice it unless I rub my fingers over the area. I think, as Jules said, you’ll find numbness preferable to pain when you’re more healed. Patience is key in recovery from ES surgery. You will have better days & worse days then better days but the better days eventually win. :blush:

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My doctor sent me to a TMJ specialist after surgery and as it turns out I also had TMJ. I had both internal and external surgery so I was pretty raw inside and out….I was on a liquid diet for awhile but started moving after a few days. Short walk around the block protecting my scar with a sun screen scarf……be well you are healing….

Thank you everyone for all your supporting comments!

Did anyone use a moisturizer /ointment on the incision area to avoid dark scar?

Dr. Samji recommends Mederma with sunscreen. You can get it from most drug stores or from Amazon. I used that once the incision was pretty well healed. I’ll PM you pics of my scars. They normally don’t end up dark but they do look pretty bad while healing.