Lindsey's jaw journey

(02/18/22: Bilateral TJR + 1 Piece Le Fort + Genioplasty)

Packing List for the Hospital / Recovery

You can’t plan for everything that you will need, but you can plan for the majority… which takes a huge stress off of yourself and your caregivers before surgery! There are some items you’ll need to order early so plan to start planning your own list about 1.5-2 months beforehand.

This list is based off of what others told me to purchase before hand, and just some of my own personal preferences while healing. I have had 3 jaw related surgeries before (fat grafts, SFOT and TJR) so I hope my past planning for surgeries can now help you!

(Also none of these are affiliate links or anything just links🙂)

Food

Depending on how soon your surgeon says you can start chewing soft foods, you will need 3-6 weeks of liquid foods. I received syringes in the hospital that I continued to use for the next 10 days to eat soups and take ground up medications with. You can ask for more from the hospital to take home too. Hospital food that they brought out was jello, coffee/tea, broth, and a juice. I drank just the broth they brought and kate farms shakes (I brought, they don’t leave that slimy gummy feeling in the back of your mouth like ensures and boosts do for me) at the hospital the 3 nights I was there. Nutrition is difficult after these kinds of surgeries, but oh so important, “Nutritional status is a strong predictor of postoperative outcomes and is recognized as an important component of surgical recovery programs. Adequate nutritional consumption is essential for addressing the surgical stress response and mitigating the loss of muscle mass, strength, and functionality” 4

Food to pack:

  • Nutritional Supplement shakes. I drank one of these a day.
    • Ensure
    • Boost
    • Kate farms shakes
      • (dairy, soy & gluten free) was recommended to me by a friend and they tasted better and didn’t make my throat feel super gunky and goopy – turns out that was a big deal, if you are getting a Le Fort then congestion is going to be your new unwelcome friend!
  • Soups that you can purée in a blender
    • Bone broth was a life saver the first few days and so good for healing with its high protein and collagen.
    • Freeze the soups and have them ready to pull out when needed.
      • Note: try all the soups you are making before hand to make sure they will taste good
  • Smoothies (not for eating through the syringes/ first few days! Too cold so this hurts the back of your teeth. I began eating smoothies after 1 week)
    • To make it easy on my caretakers, I ordered a bunch of smoothies from Daily Harvest. They have some high calorie ones too. Look for discount codes before your first purchase!
    • Pour a nutritional shake into the smoothie for extra calories and minerals, and some protein powder too.
  • Get protein in your diet somehow!! Important for post-op healing and even helps to fight infection5. Half our bone makeup is protein7. I have used this egg white protein powder before (recommended by my integrative doctor) and also Serious Mass weight gain powder (recommended by my orthodontist). The bone broth I listed above has 10 g of protein per serving which is a good start.
  • Applesauce in these pouches, or other healthy squeezable fruit/veggie combos. Good to take with medicines too.
  • Fruit juice, water (be sure to be drinking plenty of fluids)
  • Other liquid foods you enjoy

Supplements (talk with your surgeon about these)

Most of the recommendations below are considering the Le Fort, which is one of the harder parts of the surgery to heal from, and a lot of ICR cases need. The below article I think does a good job at outlining what the healing process is like for a bone fracture and things to do/take in order to heal https://www.betterbones.com/fractures-and-healing/speed-up-fracture-healing/ .

I would also recommend getting lab work done before your surgery to make sure you are not deficient in anything that could prevent your body from healing to it’s fullest capability. I was deficient in magnesium and Vit D (big one😬) before surgery, many ICR friends are deficient in at least something because of not being able to chew properly.

Some supplements to consider for healing, especially if you are having a Le Fort:

  • Out of anything you take, these 2 vitamins seem to be the most helpful!
    • Vit D3 1,2
    • Vitamin C2 ( Emergen-C is drinkable, 1000mg)
      • Helps boost your immune system to prevent infection, heal soft tissue and bone, may prevent fibrosis and helps your body to make collagen.3
  • Calcium 1000mg (powdered one I bought), if you want to take it.1,2
    • Some say over supplementation is bad, recommend doing your own research on this one.
    • If you have a problem with heterotopic bone growth or bone spurs, probably avoid this??
  • Magnesium (my integrative doctor recommended this Designs for Health Magnesium Chelate Powder to me, also on amazon). I was personally deficient in Magnesium before surgery.
  • Vitamin K
    • Helps bind calcium to bone7
  • Vegan Greens & Reds Superfoods powder
    • Or another veggie/ fruit powder mix to get some leafy greens in your diet. I liked this one because it had pre and pro biotics also and is all organic. Discount codes I found at the time of writing this (6/8/22): 20NEW, CART25
  • Collagen supplement
    • I have mixed feelings on this one. I developed keloid scars on my thumb, ear incisions and inside my mouth near my genio cut. I stopped taking the collagen as soon as I saw this link8 and my keloid scars have calmed down/ flattened more. Excess collagen can cause keloids. I developed no keloid scars on my neck, le fort or stomach incisions though.
    • I took this for my SFOT surgery and thought it helped! Research suggests it helps as well for bone and soft tissue healing.2
  • Walking as soon as you feel able to
    • Ok, not a supplement, but my first jaw surgeon “prescribed” this to me. It brings blood flow to areas that need to heal.
    • “fracture healing requires good circulation and an adequate flow of nutrient-replenishing blood to the fracture site — both of which are enhanced by exercise.”7

Supplements to probably not take:

  • Vitamin A
    • Normal amounts are needed for bone growth, but excess has been linked with actual bone loss, which I experienced first hand after taking accutane at age 19 and had more aggressive condylar resorption during this time. I’m not sure about this one but just an opinion.

Medicines

On top of the prescription meds you will get, these might also be helpful:

  • Constipation medication (Miralax powder etc, or a more natural alternative Psyllium husk helped one of my ICR friends)
    • Some people become really constipated from anesthesia. The day before your surgery please do not chow down on a hamburger or heavy meat, even blended! You will regret it! Eat a lot of fiber, veggies and fruits the day before it will help a lot. Drink a ton of water day before.
  • Sudafed (if you are having a Le fort, you will be super congested!! I didn’t know this beforehand!)
    • At the hospital, ask them for Sudafed. Theirs will be 20 mg stronger and you get some to take home
  • Children’s liquid ibuprofen
    • Grounding up the prescription ibuprofen is terrible, it burns. Even in chocolate syrup. Double check with your surgeon that he will prescribe you ibuprofen post-op/ that this would be ok to substitute. Get like 4-8 bottles, as there are not many 600mg servings in each.
  • Tools:

Packing List

This is a packing list for out of town surgeries.

  • Basics
    • Your pillow (with extra pillow cases that might get some blood on them). Bring a few extra pillows if you can.
    • Blankets
    • 4-6 sweat pants/ pajama pants
    • 4-6 button up shirts ( your face will be swollen so you don’t want to pull anything tight over it, button ups are the way to go)
    • Slippers
    • Undies and comfy bras / not sports bras that are hard to get over swollen head
    • Fuzzy socks
    • Comfy jacket
    • Eye drops
    • Hair claws and hair ties
    • Hair brush (your scalp will probably be sore after the surgery, not sure why it happens but it does, buy a gentle hairbrush if you want to, it will feel nice to massage your scalp)
    • Lotion
    • Pads or tampons
    • Tissues
    • Hot Humidifier (if you are getting a le fort, you will be very congested)
      • Take this to the hospital for sure. This thing lived in my lap the first 2-3 weeks.
    • TV pull up table
      • This was so great for me to sit and eat at while watching TV or just pulling it anywhere I needed.
      • Not technically needed, but I have used every day of my recovery, helps me to maintain better posture too.
  • Hygiene
    • Shampoo (my surgeon recommended baby shampoo)
    • Conditioner
    • Face wash
    • Body wash
      • (antibacterial, wash in this night before surgery and ask for a special wash from your surgeon to wash your hair night before, I think it was chlorhexidine gluconate that I was given. Wash your hair once early in the night and dry, then wake up early before surgery and wash it again with this and dry. Helps prevent infection.)
    • Wash cloths and towels if you don’t want to use the Airbnb/hotel ones
    • Deodorant
    • Face wipes
    • Antibacterial hand wipes
  • Technology
    • Phone
    • Phone charger
    • Computer for movies
    • Computer charger
  • Jaw
    • Baby toothbrush
      • I just brushed the outsides of my teeth starting the 3rd day, and finally was able to get a toothbrush on the insides about a week later. Your mouth opening will be limited to a finger width after the surgery but you will gain it back)
    • Toothpaste
      • (your surgeon might also give you special mouthwash to rinse with)
    • Boogie board
      • For communicating first day and when your jaw gets tired. Some on amazon too.
    • JawBra or CryoJaw ice machine ( rent from the ICR group on facebook!).
      • I personally preferred the ice bags they gave me at the hospital the first day, then switched to the ice machine for the rest of my hospital stay and the week. I never used my JawBra.
    • Neck pillow
      • (I never used this, I fashioned a blanket around my head to keep it stable but I know people love the neck pillows)
    • Standard 12 height (25 x 25 x 12) wedge pillow to sleep inclined at home (the hospital bed will be inclined for you, you don’t need it there)
    • Waterpik
      • (your mouth opening will be very limited at first, maybe 10mm so regular flossing will take awhile. )
      • Bed bath and Beyond has coupons for $20 off $80 purchases all the time
      • I am still using the water pik 15 weeks post op.
  • Kitchen Devices
  • Meds
    • Meds you take daily (let your surgeon know of any prescription meds of course)
    • Pill crushers
    • Chocolate syrup to mix with the crushed antibiotic pills and other crushed meds
  • Surgical scar care
    • My surgeon gave me some antibacterial ointment to put on them while they were still closing up
    • I started using these silicone strips 13 days after surgery when the scars were sealed up and ready for them (don’t apply if there is still scabbing/ the incisions are still closing up), I like the strips for the neck scars because I feel like it keeps your scar from widening as you turn your neck and stretch the scar throughout the day
    • Silicone sunscreen gel for ear incisions??????????
  • Tech
    • Chrome cast, HDMI cable or another device for watching hulu, HBO, netflix etc on airbnb or hotel TVs

There could be other things you choose to bring with you, but this list was all I needed! Don’t worry too much, your caretaker can always go and buy what you need.

Feel free to leave comments down below of what you found helpful in your packing lists!

Sending a big hug to each and every one of you reading this ❤ YOU GOT THIS.

Citations:

  1. “it is likely that calcium and vitamin D deficiencies contribute to fracture healing complications”. The Le Fort is a controlled fracture. Rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and mice in this study were deprived of calcium and vitamin D3 and had poorer healing outcomes. Vitamin D3 seemed to be even more important than calcium. https://www.ecmjournal.org/papers/vol035/pdf/v035a25.pdf
  2. “A Healing Diet After Bone Fracture”, https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/osteo-fracture-diet
  3. Efficacy of Vitamin C Supplementation on Collagen Synthesis and Oxidative Stress After Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6204628/
  4. “Pre- and Post-Surgical Nutrition for Preservation of Muscle Mass, Strength, and Functionality Following Orthopedic Surgery” https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1675/htm
  5. “Your body needs protein to help build and repair muscle, skin, and other body tissues. Protein also helps fight infection, balance body fluids, and carry oxygen through your body.” https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/abs1199
  6. “Vitamin A decreases the anabolic bone response to mechanical loading by suppressing bone formation”, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6436664/
  7. “6 Steps for Healing Broken Bone (Fractures) Faster”, https://www.betterbones.com/fractures-and-healing/speed-up-fracture-healing/
  8. “Effect of Collagen Nanotopography on Keloid Fibroblast Proliferation and Matrix Synthesis: Implications for Dermal Wound Healing” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4195479/

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