The surgery and the hospital
So there it was, the day of the operation. I was informed in detail beforehand what to expect and what I should be prepared for. So I arrived at the hospital at 6 am on the day of the operation. I had a few things with me and had my beard shaved off - that's all I had to do. I was assigned to my bed and I was supposed to make myself comfortable.
I didn't have too much time until I was picked up for the first surgery in my life. I remember that the anesthetist told me that I should travel to my favorite vacation spot and count down from 10. Counting from 10 to 8, all went black. A few hours later
I woke up in the intensive care unit - standard procedure when you have a double jaw surgery.
My nose was filled with cotton to catch the blood, so I could only breathe through my mouth. I was very thirsty and also totally off the track. I even noticed that I could move my mouth a bit, but I was far from even trying that. A nurse came by and brought
me a syringe (without a needle) with water. I should use it to splash the water in my mouth and drink it like that. I tell you, that was something ...
Later that day, a doctor came by to let me know that everything was going as planned. If the first day goes well, I should leave the intensive care unit the next day and be transferred to the normal hospital station. The doctor informed me about the importance
of being in a sitting position all the time (also when sleeping!), otherwise too much blood would run into the head. In addition, he informed me that the swelling will get worse over the next few days until it gets better around day 4.
That was pretty much it and he was gone.
Looks awful? Feels like this too. But don't worry, that was just the beginning. The night in the intensive care unit was a complete disaster. Next to me there was a woman with severe pain who could sleep about as much or little at night as I could. I had to sleep in a seating position and my lips were getting drier by the minute because I could only breathe through my mouth. I was thirsty nonstop because I couldn't drink very well and half of the water didn't stay in my mouth anyway. Oh, would you like to see how you eat after such an operation? Check it out:
The surgery and the hospital – day 2
After a really unpleasant day, I was brought to the normal station the next morning. I was shown the bed and the freezer with cooling pads(yeah that's important). In addition to the good old Retterspitz*, this was also my most important companion for the following days, as there were always fresh cooling pads there. After I was scared of myself in the intensive care unit, another shovel was added on top on day 2, because the swelling really started there. It looks something like this:
If you are concerned about the swelling, the most important question is: is the surgery only on the lower jaw or both sides? If the upper jaw is also moved, the surgeons have to pull your lips up very far. This stresses the nerves next to the nose and leads to significantly harder swellings than if only the lower jaw was operated. I also had a 16 year old roommate who only had his lower jaw done. He didn't look nearly as bad as I did!
From then on it was time to kill time. Make sure to provide yourself some entertainment, otherwise you will be terribly bored and you will concentrate too much on your face. If you like reading, you can find the current bestsellers* here on Amazon. If you're into streaming then download something
beforehand on netflix or prime - if you don't have prime yet, be sure to get it! You will always have to order something and you will be happy when it is there quickly. Prime video comes with it. Do it, I watched an incredible number of
series during my time in the hospital - you can find a link* here to try the first month for free. If you're more into listening, you can also give
Audible* for listening to books or Amazon Music Unlimited* a try.
During the day the doctor came by to check on me. He informed me that I should cool down the swelling well and make wraps with Retterspitz - they should always be well soaked in this mediocre smelling stuff. The nice thing about this day: the cotton came
out of the nose. They are pulled out with momentum, which is of course a very strange feeling at first. The blood shot out and you need a small bucket to catch it. But after a while it becomes more comfortable to be able to breathe at
least a little through your nose. Otherwise there was the first liquid meals and I also received (there was no pandemic yet) a few visits to the bed.
The first night on the normal station was a little better than the night before - mainly because I was very tired anyway and I could get some air through my nose. To sleep in a sitting position is of course a very strange thing. I probably woke up every
hour, but at least I fell asleep again and again.
The surgery and the hospital – day 3
Day 3 was a bit of a start to get used to the new condition. At the same time, however, the swelling became significantly worse:
It looks bad, but it doesn't feel too bad. At no point did I have any real pain! On the night of that day I had taken pain medication once, as it got a little uncomfortable - otherwise the entire procedure was associated with very little to zero pain.
It was just that you feel uncomfortable. Otherwise not much happened that day. Eat, Netflix, try to sleep - and in the meantime get yourself new cooling pads 30 times a day and destroy liters of Retterspitz.
The surgery and the hospital – day 4 and 5
Then it was slowly moving towards the end of the hospital stay. Day 4 was actually the first day on which the swelling noticeably subsided:
Not much else happened, but I noticed that I really wanted to go home. I could no longer smell or see the hospital and especially the toilet there. I used to distract myself a lot with shows and YouTube just to get the day off. On day 5, I couldn't wait.
I would have got breakfast, but I said I had to get out of here immediately and was released shortly after 7 a.m.
The references marked with an asterisk (*) are so-called commission links. If you click on such a referral link and shop via this link, I will receive a commission from your purchase. For you the price doesn't change. [Source: affima.de]