One week to go

One week to go until what, you might ask. I apologise as it's entirely my fault, for not updating this blog.

You might remember how I crashed off my mountain bike while on holiday last April. Then I went to see a specialist when I got back home and was told that I had actually broken my jaw. The last thing I wrote about this was in December, where I said I was going back to see the specialist in early January.

Well, the specialist referred me for an MRI scan, which thanks to having a certain friend I was able to have done the next day. The scan apparently showed that the disc on the right hand side is out of position.
This cartoon shows kind of what is going on:

So my options are basically the following:
1. Leave it how it is (i.e. some discomfort, restricted opening)
2. Surgery to try and fix it.

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, I've decided to go ahead with the surgery, which is scheduled for next Thursday, 26 March. It will be nearly a year since the bike crash.

The surgery (as written on my admission form) is a TMJ arthrotomy. That is, open surgery on the temporomandibular joint. From the MRI it's not clear if the disc is still intact; if it is, the aim is that he will put it back in place and anchor it to the condyle (knobby bit of the jaw bone). If it's not, the disc will be removed. That's one aspect that I'm a bit nervous about, although according to the specialist the only thing I'll notice is that my jaw movement might be a bit noisier. Since I've always had a clicky jaw, that prospect doesn't bother me too much. What is playing on my mind is the unknowns surrounding the recovery. It's not uncommon to have facial numbness or paralysis for a few months after this kind of surgery, not to mention swelling and pain for a number of weeks. That number could be anywhere between 3 and 8, so we'll have to see how things go as to whether I can play in our first badminton rep tie on 18 April.

Here are some pictures (if you can make sense of them):

Left TMJ, closed (left) and open (right). This side is 'normal'. The condyle is the grey comma shaped blob in the centre, while the disc is the darker grey line above it.

Right TMJ, closed (left) and open (right). This is the side I am having problems with. Spot the difference with the left hand side, above, especially regarding the position of the disc.

I had to get a new passport recently, which entailed taking photos of myself. I got a bit of a fright looking through them. I'm used to seeing myself in the mirror (left), so I got used to seeing my jaw sloping from left to right (as you look at the picture). Of course, the normal image (right) is how everyone else sees me, and most people struggle to see that my jaw is not even. (It's more obvious if I lift my chin). I figured putting the two images side by side would show the level of wonkiness.


I'll try and keep this updated as things progress. In the meantime I would appreciate your prayers that everything goes well and the recovery is quick!