Lateral Pterygoid Myotomy and Lateral Pterygoid Plate Osteopathy!!

20th December 2011 and I was booked in for a lateral pterygoid mytomy and a lateral pterygoid plate osteopathy! Basically, the lateral pterygoid (one of the jaw muscles which makes the jaw move from side to side) was detached at both sides in an attempt to stop it moving the jaw! My scar was opened up on the left side and the surgery was performed there and also the back of my mouth was cut open so that they could break the small bone which is attached to the muscle. When I woke up I was in agony and my arch bars were still fitted as I had to have elastics attached whilst I was swollen.

My lovely scar again and my cheek as it started to swell after the surgery!

Unfortunately, I couldn't eat my Christmas dinner (again) and I was in a lot of pain but still attempted to put on a brave face! After this surgery I got nerve damage in my left eyebrow which means that I can no longer raise it, and I also had short term paralysis of the left side of my mouth but this came back after 4 weeks.

I went back to work after 6 weeks off on the 6th January 2012, and went to see my consultant on the 11th January; we discussed a further operation on the right side of my jaw which would be scheduled for March/April time and I was happy with this decision because even though my jaw was far from perfect, I needed to improve my attendance at work and also get the grades at college so that I could go to university. 

However, on the 23rd January my jaw yet again decided it didn't like staying where it should be and came out of place, which meant another trip to A&E (my second home). We contacted Mr Dodd because we didn't want the cycle to start up again and he booked an operating slot for the 31st January. Before this time my jaw came out of place a further 4 major times (which meant A&E) but countless times where I was able to fix it myself. 

This time round, I had a lateral pterygoid plate osteopathy and botox, which meant that I had no external scarring and the operation was performed from inside my mouth.

After this operation, I did have a bit of a life, I managed to go back to work after my second sick note, attend university interviews and carry on at college. My jaw started to lock closed or out of position but if I left it, it would often go back to it's original position. In May 2012, my jaw locked shut, and at first there wasn't anything strange about this, but it remained locked for over 6 weeks; I was unable to open my jaw at all! This meant that I was back to a liquid diet and I was so frustrated because no doctor knew how to resolve the problem!