Malka...and others...I have learned that the first step in the process is to have an arteriogram to be certain that the artery is suitable for transfer, and that the circulation of the leg will be able to handle the artery's loss. Arteriograms are done in day-surgery, I think, since they involve inserting a catheter into the artery in the groin, and there is a danger of bleeding. I don't think that it matters which leg they take the bone from.

The surgery involves a long incision on the side of the calf, and the removal of the middle portion of the fibula, --not the entire length, and not the ends--along with tissue, skin, and the artery, all in a package. I don't know how the leg wound is closed.....whether it requires a graft from somewhere else, or whether it can be closed with something artificial or by granulation. It leaves a significant oval paddle-shaped scar, in addition to the long incision.

This "package" is installed into the mouth (your surgery will be different from mine) The bone is buttressed to the adjacent bone, in front and in the rear, and secured with wires and small plates and screws. the skin will cover the bone and any defect in the floor of your mouth, and attatch, I suppose, to ....the cheek. The artery is threaded down into the neck and inserted into an artery there, to provide circulation to the graft. If that artery closes off, the graft will die, and the procedure will be a failure.

They quoted me a 15% failure rate of some portion of the procedure....higher than normal for other surgeries....

My surgeon said I would be in the hospital for about a week. I don't know if there is some chance of breathing problems.....always a chance with serious oral surgery.....and then I'm sure they will want to watch for signs of failure of the graft .....or other problems.

The girl I know...Cheryl....returned to work at about 3 weeks, but she is in PR and she wouldn't return without teeth, and the prosthodontist didn't want to make her any sort of appliance any sooner. Her defect extended from the jaw around the front of her mouth, and included much of her palate. Mine is not that extensive. He said that he could make me something sooner than that. I have all of my own front teeth....the four incisors, and then the rest of them, and the bone, are gone on the right side. I could manage for a couple of weeks to stay close to home and send someone else to the grocery store.

I will ask Cheryl how much help she needed during that time. The leg would be the primary limiting factor during that time.

More later.....--Colleen