Help for severe bruising following jaw surgery?

January 10, 2005 3:38 PM

Help for severe bruising following surgery? (More, including about a dozen titanium screws holding my jaw together, inside.)

I'm exactly 2 weeks post-op from jaw surgery (upper LeFort osteotomy and lower genioplasty, for those of you keeping score at home) and, after a few unexpected days in the ICU (I'm a bleeder! Who knew?), have been home for over a week and am generally on the mend quite well. However, I'm unusually bruised -- so much so that my surgeon said that in all his decades of doing these procedures, my bruises are among the worst he's ever seen. I have two black eyes and discoloration all around the mouth, chin, and upper jaw -- imagine a raccoon with a purple goatee and you will get some sense of it.

I'm not in a lot of pain, but I'd like to know if there’s anything to do to speed the process along a little. (I'm mainly concerned because I'd like to go back to work in a week or two, and I'd like to be able to see my young nephews soon without terrifying them.) We applied ice for the first several days, then heat (as my surgeon recommended) for the next few days, and I'm keeping my head elevated (oh, the joys of sleeping upright).

Is there anything else I could be doing? Time may very well be the only remedy, but I just thought I'd see if there are any docs/nurses/bruisers out there with some other suggestions to see if I can speed the process along. I read something about arnica online, but don’t really know much about it. Thanks for any help!

posted by scody to health & fitness (11 comments total)

Make sure to get enough vitamins A,C,E, and K, though you don't want to overdose on A, E, or K. I've read that applying vitamin K topically helps promote bruise healing. Some people swear by witch hazel, also applied topically. I think most grocery stores carry witch hazel astringents. If you can't find it in the facial care section, you will probably find it in the pharmacy aisle, as it's also used for a hemorrhoid remedy.

Also, avoid aspirin and gingko biloba. They can make bruising significantly worse.

I wish you a speedy recovery!
posted by kamikazegopher at 4:10 PM on January 10, 2005

I had corrective jaw surgery last April (upper and lower, I don't recall the specific procedures). My bruising sounds like it was relatively minor to what you're talking about, but I still looked pretty awful.

From what I recall of what my doctor said, there's not much to be done to speed getting rid of the bruises. I slept almost completely upright in a recliner and my bruises and probably 80% of my swelling was gone within two weeks. However, I'm 18 so my healing was pretty fast.

From what I've seen of people who have had similar surgeries (which seems to be quite a few), the bruising heals a lot faster than one might expect. The black and purple will will fade out to greens and yellows, which are a lot less terrifying and in many lights aren't even that noticeable.
posted by Orrorin at 4:13 PM on January 10, 2005

My wife, a massage therapist, says to look into a massage therapist of physical therapist trained in lymphatic drainage. That should help with the swelling, as well as any aftereffects of the anaesthesia or pain medication.
posted by kickerofelves at 4:17 PM on January 10, 2005

There's nothing but time that I'm aware of to make the colors of bruising go away. The reaction is an enzymatic one, and it is slow.

When you say "I'm a bleeder, who knew?" do you mean that you've been diagnosed by a hematologist? If not, it occurs to me that you might care to visit one. Classical factor-8 deficient hemophiliacs generally learn of their condition in childhood, but there are many other types of clotting deficiency, some that only manifest during major surgery. For all you know, you have Christmas disease. It might be worth while to get it checked out, especially as some of these conditions are heritable.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:35 PM on January 10, 2005

Ice for the first 24 hours, moist heat packs after that.

no aspirin or advil (ibuprofren)

The lymphatic drainage idea..... your body needs to break down a whole bunch of blood accumulated in the tissues; your swelling isn't due to lymphatic fluid accumulating. The massage technique might have a place in some circumstances, but i don't think this is one of them.

How do you look in greenish yellow?

My best wishes to you; it's going to take time.
posted by reflecked at 4:36 PM on January 10, 2005

Try some bioflavonoids (often you can get a vitamin C supplement with them, or you can look for them separately) and co-enzyme Q10.
posted by kindall at 4:56 PM on January 10, 2005

To make the time pass more quickly take up a hobby--like posting pictures of your face on the web so we all can see the progression from red to purple to black to green to yellow...

And how about some X-rays too?

(but seriously I don't think anything but time will work)
posted by v-tach at 5:11 PM on January 10, 2005

If the bruising hasn't gone away by the time you want to reemerge into the world, go to a good cosmetics counter and have them give you a "makeover." Good makeup can cost a bit, but it's worth it if things are as bad as you say they are and you get bored hiding from the world.
posted by TheGoldenOne at 6:05 PM on January 10, 2005

Arnica is a herbal remedy that is supposed to be good for bruising. My wife was recommended to use it by the midwife after she gave birth last year (in the UK), so I'm assuming it's regarded as somewhat less flaky than most herbal remedies. It's widely available in mainstream pharmacies in the UK, not sure about the US.
posted by bifter at 2:39 AM on January 11, 2005

Don't supplement vitamin A! It's very easy to reach toxic levels of vitamin A. If you suspect you need A, supplement with beta carotene. Your body will make A from this, but will not take you to toxic levels. A good quaility multivitamin should be all you need. Any more than that, and you'll just have really expensive pee, as my nutrition professor used to say.
posted by jennyjenny at 7:54 AM on January 11, 2005

Hey scody, sorry to hear about your surgery, that sounds vicious. Don't have any good advice, just wanted to offer condolences.
posted by jonson at 12:06 PM on January 19, 2005