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Face and Jaw Surgery

Jaw surgery

05/14/2007

Question:

My son is 17yo and had his jaw broken, had surgery to wire his mouth shut on 5/7/07, given APAP W/Codeine Elixir, complaining of severe tightness, how long will it take for the medicine to and the wires to loosen up?

Answer:

Your son underwent treatment of broken jaw by closed reduction i.e. wiring of the jaws. It is not unusual for patients to feel claustrophobic when their jaws are wired together. Most of the patients get habituated being wired in few days, and these wires do not get loose. The purpose of wiring the jaws together is lost if the wires are too loose as this would not provide any stability.

You can talk to your surgeon who may prescribe anxiolytics for the next few days that might help. APAP w/codeine elixir (tylenol with codeine) helps with pain only and will not loosen the jaws. If your son is still not tolerating his jaws being wired together, there are other surgical options that can minimize or prevent wiring of teeth. You need to discuss regarding this with your surgeon.

 

 

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Response by:

Likith V Reddy, MD, DDS, FACS Likith V Reddy, MD, DDS, FACS
Formerly:
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati