INSTRUCTIONS AFTER JAW SURGERY

• Items that should be immediately available at bedside are a large bowl to use if you become nauseated, ointment for your lips, cold water to rinse your mouth out, spray bottles of salt water (ocean spray) and Afrin for your nose.
  Ice packs should be placed on your upper/lower jaw continuously for the first eight to ten hours and longer if possible.
• (Upper JawSurgeryONLY) “DO NOT BLOW YOUR NOSE!” The bony incisions in your upper jaw connect with your nasal passages. The pressure that occurs in your nose when you blow is immediately transmitted to the sinuses and can cause a bad nosebleed or result in air being forced into the tissues of your cheeks. It is best to avoid problems by keeping your nasal passages free of mucous and blood. It is very common to have light nasal bleeding off and on the first day or two of surgery. If the bleeding becomes heavy and concerns you, elevate your head by sitting up straight and put pressure under your nose with a rolled up piece of gauze and your finger. If the bleeding continues and you remain concerned please contact your doctor.
• On the first day it is recommended that you use a humidifier next to your bed and spray each nostril with salt water every fifteen minutes. Each spray should be a strong, continuous spray, which should be sniffed afterwards to help clean the nasal passages. The Afrin nasal spray should be used every six hours. Afrin shrinks the nasal lining and helps the saltwater spray keep your nasal passages open. Probably the best adjunct in keeping the nasal passages open is frequent showering. Some patient’s shower three to four times a day during the first week after surgery.
• Please minimize talking. It is best not to have visitors the first day. The local anesthetic, which is used for your surgery, is very long lasting. Your lips willbe numb most of the day. Drinkingwith a glass and talking will be difficult. We will provide you with a largesyringe with a soft tip to aid you in consuming fluids. On the day after surgery, you will quickly learn how to use a cup and can discard the feeding aid.
• On the day after surgery, it is important that you begin to ambulate. Walk around the house as much as you can tolerate. The more that you are out of bed, the quicker your swelling will go away. Once you are comfortable with your appearance, we encourage you to walk outdoors. Your activity will improve your spirits and the more active you are, the quicker swelling with resolve.

• Avoid milk products and nutritional supplements until the second day after surgery. You can confirm that you are taking adequate fluids by weighing yourself when you get home and comparing your daily weight with your immediate post operative weight. You should not lose more than three to five pounds the first week of surgery. If you find your weight dropping, you simply need to increase your intake of fluids.
• A full liquid diet is preferred until the post-operative visit. At that appointment your doctor will reduce the tension in your rubber bands so you can open your mouth. Thereafter you can eat anything that you can fit into your mouth that does not require chewing (mashed potatoes, yogurt, pudding, Jell-O, stewed vegetables, or anything else that can be poured.