Dad is out of surgery.
The surgery went according to plan.
They did have to use "external fixation," which means he has metal hardware on the outside of his body to hold his pelvis in place. The external fixation device will remain in place for about 6 weeks. He will be in a wheelchair for a while as he will not be able to put weight on his left side or leg for at least 4 of those weeks. He is in quite a bit of pain after this surgery. It is completely understandable that everyone wants to visit and see him right now, but it is best for his comfort and recovery if he can rest and heal at this time.
There have been numerous reports about his teeth, or in some cases, lack thereof. As we mentioned yesterday, his lower mandible was badly broken. If you'll visualize your own face--one break would have run vertically about where the corner of your mouth is. The other break began vertically at the other corner, but then ran back toward the ear in a horizontal fashion. Because of the extent of this break, and how it was broken, the mandible was twisted and just well, barely sitting in there. His teeth weren't visible, and therefore, it was possible they were gone. However, after Dr. Marchbanks repositioned the mandible, his lower teeth were in fact, there. It is likely he has lost a couple of teeth and will need dental work, he does have lower and upper front teeth.
Dr. Marchbanks did wire his mandible. He had to remove a gold crown to be able to reach where he needed to position the wire. (Dr. Marchbanks laughed as he handed over the 'saved' gold crown to Mom in a speciman jar.) However, it is wired in the back and he is still able to speak, and will soon be able to tolerate a very soft diet. This wiring is only temporary, and it is not the scary "Hanibal" type wire that many people think of.
More to come later,
Dan's Dozen
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