How much does orthognathic surgery (jaw alignment surgery) hurt?

Depends: While I do not perform the surgery, i was a patient once, so please understand that my information is anecdotal at best. The recovery is long, and i definitely remember being miserable for the first 2 weeks. The swelling took months to resolve. I had the surgery over 20 yrs ago and now I am happy i proceeded. Your surgeon can give you more balanced info than i can.

Surprisingly little!: These days, with contemporary anesthesia and pain control, even major jaw surgery results in minimal to moderate pain. In the past, as the other doctor mentioned, there was more pain than today. However, there are still a great many very annoying problems with orthognathic surgery, including a lot of swelling, facial and oral numbness, nasal and sinus congestion and drainage, and a liquid diet.

Orthognathic Surgery: With any type of surgery, there is bound to be some associated discomfort. Usually, a good postoperative pain regimen can alleviate most of that pain. Oddly enough, the chief complaint after orthognathic surgery is seldom pain. Hope this helps.

Jaw surgery pain: Most patients have only moderate pain after orthognathic jaw surgery. Discomfort after your orthognathic jaw surgery can be easily managed with pain medication. A few patients will describe severe pain, and this is likely due to individual pain tolerance. This pain usually subsides in 7-14 days but in rare circumstances may persist for weeks or months after surgery.

Mild-moderate: Less than expected considering the magnitude of the procedure. Dr. Bates explains very well.