I didn't expect to ever post about a hugely invasive surgery and title it 'good news' but there you go. This morning I had the final consult with my dentist/surgeon and received the first bit of good news since stepping into that building last month. Hooray!

We made a decision a couple of weeks ago to go with the BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) method of reconstruction. Basically stem cells from my hip, this special protein, and ground cadaver bone. You can find a good concise interview explaining the full process here. Previously my surgeon had told me that his standard procedure for this was a two-part surgery; first to remove the mandible and install the titanium plate, then going back in 2-3 months later to perform the reconstruction with the BMP. However, he's confident that he can do it all in one for me. Many surgeons using BMP are doing it in one surgery now and to have him tell me that I won't need to go back to square one on the recovery front is fantastic news!

Doing the surgery all in one procedure also means that the recovery time will be shorter. It's still far longer than the fibula or hip graft methods as BMP results in a lot more swelling, but it should only be 6-8 months in total. ("Only.") The hospital stay should also be shorter than I was expecting. When using the fibula you generally have to stay in for 1-2 weeks to ensure that you catch on to the physical therapy needed for the leg. My surgeon thinks I should only have to spend 1-3 days in. Woot! This is a huge relief simply because hospital stays in the USA are not cheap; we're looking at $500-$1000 per day and that price is after insurance has covered 80%. Ouch!

The downside of using BMP is that my jaw will be wired for longer... doc estimates 3-4 weeks. After that I should stick to a soft diet for around 6 months. I completely admit that I love food and an active lifestyle so this is going to be an utterly miserable time, but ah well. I'll also probably be losing three teeth instead of the initial expected two but we can look at dental implants further down the road if need be.

Surgery will be on September 29th. I've been logging this all in a tumblr 'diary' of sorts which you guys can find here. After surgery I'll be sure to keep it updated. As for the present... eh. I'm still terrified of permanent facial disfigurement from the surgeries but that's a "wait and see" kind of deal... it can't be predicted who it happens to. Doc thinks he should be able to dig the nerve out of the affected jaw and save it with a nerve graft so I may eventually regain feeling in the lip on that side after surgery. That would be amazing. Am I still kind of really down? Of course. Daily twinges and aches in my jaw since the biopsy remind me that the next 6-8 months are going to suck. This news, though, is helping me to keep my chin up.

As for now I just need to fight off this cold I've picked up before the big day. Having my body already compromised when going into surgery is something I'd like to avoid ;__;

I also want to say thank you for all the support you folks are showing. It really does warm my heart and I appreciate it so much. ♥ ;u;