3 weeks 1 day until surgery

Well today at 9.15am my jaw dislocated when I coughed. I went straight to the hospital and checked in at a&e. I was seen by the triage nurse who has dealt with this issue multiple times for me so he sorted out entonox and a room for me straight away. At roughly 12.30pm a lady from the maxilliofacial team arrived and she tried to reduce it with just entonox. After having no success with that she tried putting local anaesthetic into the joint and muscles surrounding it. This led to a completely numb lower lip and tongue. At 1.15pm I was taken up to a ward as my 4 hours in a&e was up.

Whilst on the ward I was told I would have to wait until at least 3pm before they could take me to theatre to sedate me to reduce it as I had eaten at 9am. During this time I had no pain relief. I was eventually taken to theatre at 4pm and after a battle to get a cannula inserted they sedated me with propofol. I came to about an hour later in the recovery department. During this time I tried to explain that the bandage they had put on my head was too tight, I couldn’t put my tongue back to sit behind my teeth as there was no space in the back of my jaw to move it backwards. The pressure of the bandage also caused me a lot of TMJ pain so I was given liquid codeine and a drip of paracetamol. After many tears and eventually telling them that they either loosen it or I take it off they finally called maxfax to come and loosen the bandage. They loosened it enough to a state that I could cope with the TMJ pain and they were happy that it was tight enough to stop my jaw from dislocating again.

Once I had fully recovered I was taken back on to the ward, by this time it was 6.30pm. The nurse did my observations and I asked how long until I could go home. This didn’t go down well with the nurse and she was trying to convince me to stay in overnight. I waited until the change over of staff to ask the new nurse when I could go home, she said all my medications and discharge letter was complete she just needed to check with the doctors that they were happy for me to go home. The doctors were happy as long as my blood pressure was fine, which it was, so then it was a text to my husband to tell him I needed picking up from the ward as they don’t allow you to leave after sedation on your own. By this time it was 8.15pm and my husband arrived at 8.30pm. I was sent home with liquid codeine and paracetamol as I am to not open my mouth far. Unfortunately they were unable to get liquid versions of my other medications. I am to have a liquid diet for the next few days however, I have decided to continue this until my operation to reduce the chance my jaw can have to dislocate whilst eating.

I was very glad to get home, the ward was very hot and stuffy. The dogs were also very pleased to see me! It has been a very long day of waiting around and being in pain, I am hoping that I don’t need to attend a&e again before my operation so I’m going to do everything I can to avoid my jaw from dislocating.