some screws loose

screw removal was far easier that i was fearing.  i did get local anesthetic so that was a big relief. all i felt was a little sensation of movement, no pain.  and of course there was not blood streaming out of the wounds like i thought haha.  the inside part of the screw is actually much shorter and thinner in diameter than I had anticipated from the outside part so the wounds aren't too big.  evidence exhibit A:

yea, sorry a bit gross, those are my actual screws with little bits of me on them.  so screw removal was all fine and dandy, but the swelling on the side of my face had continued to get bigger in the last day and it was clear there was something going on.  it was actually perfect timing that i had this appointment.  because it turns out i do have an infection.

although the first suspicion of infection was in the left joint where i had the severe pain, the infection is around the metal plate that is holding the two parts of my lower jaw together on the right side.  in the worst case, i will have to get my hardware removed once my bone re-fuses together.  apparently sometimes peoples' bodies just are like, "heck no i do not accept this metal as part of me."  i am in the lucky 4-5% who get such rejection-infection.

so i also had another procedure where my surgeon cut the inside of my mouth at the infection site (with local) and forced some of the pus out.  holy schneikies that hurt so much.  it was agonizing cause he kept pushing on the swelling from the outside with his hand pretty hard and it was so tender (couldn't anesthetize that).  but obviously it had to be done and my swelling is a lot better.  i asked the nurse how much pus they removed and the official measurement is "a lot."  this is a pic of me post-procedure.

now i'm on antibiotics and will go back again on monday for follow-up.  i hope my body will surrender to the metal without more fight.  the thing i'm happy about today: i slept last night sans rubberbands (obviously as i no longer have screws) and i woke up with only mild pain in my left joint as compared to that crazy searing pain i've experienced on the other attempts.  woooooo!!