Hey guys!
I have few questions about this procedure. My doctor refer me to a surgeon who will perform this kind of surgery (Maxillomandibular advancement) I am just worried about the expenses and I don't know what else should I anticipate.
How much will medicare cover my bill?
how much is the procedure cost?
I'm under a PHI they assured my they will cover just a portion of the procedure and the hospitalisation and I will still have to pay out of pocket.
Cheers!
Yeah I am planning to do it at a public hospital as a private patient. Hope it won't cost that much.
Yeah I am just waiting for my appointment. I am just worried of the expenses.
You really should be quoting the procedure codes to your private health cover if you have it. Otherwise go through the public route but the wait list may be a while.
Wait this is the jaw movement for sleep apnea? Recent studies have show it is not as effective as they first thought and in some cases makes it worse.
I don't know anything about this (although I did go to a maxillofacial specialist after landing on my face when I crashed in a bike race!) – and your post prompted me to look it up.
http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/mma-surgery-maxillo-mandibular-advancement.html, for example, is a fantastic success story, but the comments under it are full of nightmare results – irreparable nerve damage, mandibular condyles removed without consent… ugh. One study of MA showed a ~37% success rate in resolving sleep apnoea. As with most kinds of surgery, you'd want to exhaust your other options first.
No I am having it due to my jaw and i am having a chronic TMJ. So the doctor recommended me to see a surgeon.
Temporo mandibular joint dysfunction?
Hi, mate.
Would help if you mention the type of clinician that has made this suggestion.
I often deal with cases that are inappropriately referred. TMD (TMJ isn't a disease/problem, it is the name of the joint) isnt a diagnosis. If a clinician hasnt made a diagnosis, there shouldn't be a treatment prescribed.
If you were referring to a GP doctor, you should get a referral to an Oral Medicine specialist first. Mandibular advancement isn't a specific procedure either.
Depending on the type of TMD, injectables/splints/joint reduction may be used instead.
Hey buddy,
Thank you for the reply.
Yeah, I went 1st to my GP then went to my dentist then she referred me to an orthodontist, then the orthodontist suggested to go to the surgeon, he didn't really say that it's solely due to my tmj it was just a part of our conversation cause I mentioned it to him every time I yawn I will have that moment where my jaw will lock for few seconds or I will hear a crack on my jaw and he said maybe the surgeon can clearly explain it to me. Srsly, the entire conversation we had, half of it was just blur cause I was so focus with the thought MMA and surgeon.
TMD is a unique problem because there isn't a speciality that it has been assigned to.
To further digress, there are two categories of doctors - physicians and surgeons. An example: a cardiologist will diagnose and manage problems with pharmaceuticals, or refer to a cardiac surgeon. A cardiac surgeon is usually given the diagnosis and plans for invasive physical treatment.
In the case of TMD, it is best to approach a physician before seeing a surgeon. An oral medicine specialist would be the closest thing to a TMD specialist I can think of.
Seeing a surgeon when the problem hasn't had a formal diagnosis would result in treatment you didn't need or a procedure that complicates matters further.
Besides, an MMA is what orthodontists order in conjunction with teeth alignment problems. It is very rarely used to treat TMD. In fact, MMA commonly causes TMD.
Hate to sound like a idiot, but you have had a mandibular joint x-ray yet? As someone stated is your jaw out of alignment or just uncomfortable-painful/clicking on the joint(and in the ear)???
Yeah I do have and that's what I'm waiting for they said it will take days before they can send it to the surgeon then I need to wait around 2 weeks before I will ring the surgeon to make an appointment.
My reason why I went to the dentist is because of the clicking when I yawn or sometimes it will lock for few seconds then I will hear a clicking sound so she referred me to an orthodontist. To be honest when the orthodontist was explaining the situation I was just too focus of the thought of having a surgery and the TMJ. So I don't really have any idea if this is due for misalignment of my jaw or whatsoever maybe he did say something about that but I was just not listening properly.
@cabrill: It's just there is jaw exercises you can do to build the jaw muscle if it isn't a jaw misalignment… hate to have surgery if it was a simple issue….
Hi Cabril
I'm a physiotherapist who specialises in TMJ disorders.
My biggest suggestion would be to at least see if you have a specialist physio in your area first, try that and if that doesn't work then head down the surgery route. We recommend conservative treatment as much as possible because the current research for TMJ surgeries overall is very 50/50 in terms of success rate
Good luck!
Thank you spaceangelz!
I might do that. Hope my insurance will cover some of the session if I'll go for that alternative method. But I'll just see how it goes with the surgeon then if it will be costly I would try your suggestion.
Thank you!
No point mentioning TMJ surgery success rate when no diagnosis has been made.
Besides, so many forms of TMJ surgeries, each for its specific diagnosis, and each vary greatly in the nature of the procedure. How on earth anyone came up with a 50/50 statistic is beyond academic consideration.
You are right tshow, I should have said that 50/50 is not a precise stat it is a generalised term I've used to describe what I've read in a variety of articles on different forms of TMJ surgeries and also based on clinical experience.
Just touching on the idea of needing a diagnosis before seeing a Physio…
- one of the misconceptions that people have is that before going to Physio, you must first have a diagnosis from a doctor. This is not the case - we are all trained in performing extensive assessments and forming our own diagnoses
- physiotherapy treatment is NOT based around the diagnosis itself, it is based on what we find 'wrong' with each patient eg. If I have 2 patients coming in with disc bulges, my treatment could be completely different for them because one presents with pain with bending over and the other with arching their back. Therefore having a formal diagnosis by a doctor is often not necessary for general muscukuloskseltal issues as it does not dictate what the treatment will be
That's okay at least I have another idea if i won't go for the surgery. The more options I have the better.
I don't dispute that physiotherapist are capable of providing an assessment.
I subscribe to the old school notion that a physician should diagnose and then refer for treatment. It's all about objectivity. Everything looks like nails to a hammer.
Anyway, that's semantics. I like physiotherapists and recognize them as a legitimate medical professional.
Every surgeon differs in price and where they operate
Only way to know is to ask your surgeon
Max fax make a lot of money so my guess is several thousand