Surgery

I am considering having surgery for my sleep apnea. The name of the surgery is a "le fort 1 osteotomy advancement and a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy". I was wondering if anyone has had this type of surgery and would be willing to share their thoughts on having it. My case is also complicated by me having tongue cancer 3 years ago and undergoing a hemi-glossectomy (they removed half of my tongue and rebuilt it using a muscle from my right forearm.) My jawbone has had necrosis and I have lost bone mass causing my bite to disintegrate to the point I can't chew anything. I eat mainly soft foods. We are hoping that the shifting of the jaw in this surgery will help realign some, if not most of my teeth so that I can eat a somewhat normal diet again.

The one thing that scares me most about this surgery is the possibility of having a tracheostomy. I had one in for 50 days after my last surgery and they are the most horrible thing to endure.

If you have had this type of surgery, or any type of surgery for severe obstructive sleep apnea and are willing to share, please contact me. I thank you for your time.

Hi - I know what a Le Forte is and it's definitely 'major'. Other people have had versions of it - and other surgery for apnea - but I must tell you that results are not terrific. You might think your problem's solved for a short time, but after months you may well find that apnea not only returns, but the surgery has made it more difficult to use Cpap then, and you'll be worse off than before. You sound like you've had quite enough to deal with and I wouldn't ask for more (and so serious) problems if I were you. Unfortunately, surgeons don't eat unless they operate and to their 'hammers' everything looks like a nail. I'd do anything in fact, if I were you, to avoid any more invasive work that you possibly can. Cpap will be a snap compared to any of that and we can help you get going with all of it. Go to the lightbulb at the top of the pages here and start reading, plus definitely read the notes just above the forum posts, especially ones by Pugsy and Mollette.

Are you currently doing CPAP? If so, how is it working.

I generally urge extreme caution before getting surgery for it. Results are often poor, and side effects are bad.

With your medical problems, you may be a special case, but be very careful. Many surgeons are "chop happy" and want to cut on everyone. It's not necessarily malicious, they may just believe in what they do a little to much.

Get a second or third opinion.