I joined the Yahoo support group for Othognatic Surgery. And I realized a few things...again. Insurance is a b*tch.

I had really bad TMJ diagnosed when I was 11 yrs old, and had joint surgery when I was 14, and so my mandible was the size of a child's (I still don't have definition in my jaw line b/c the bones are so small) and the rest of my head & face grew to an adult size. None of my upper teeth touched my lower teeth, so all of my adult teeth were so sharp my orthodontist had to grind them down to prep for surgery.

I never bit into a sandwich as an adult w/out everything hanging out of my mouth b/c I couldn't cut food, I never chewed my food properly and put stress on my stomach. My lower jaw was so small my profile look bird-like (my nose looked like a beak), I often dribbled soup down my chin b/c I couldn't catch it w/ my lip, same with cookie crumbs. I took to only choosing food I could pre-cut. It prevented me from eating in front of people who I wasn't really good friends with. It had a negative effect on me as a young adult in the "real world" where impressions do matter w/ your bosses/peers.

And Cigna had the gall to say my surgery wasn't medically necessary, when I know they thought breast implants and reductions were. Is it more important for someone to eat properly for the rest of their lives, or had the right breast size? Is it more important for a person to be able to have crucial business lunch meetings with their bosses and peers or be admired for the shape of their hooters?...They caused me so many headaches, so much frustrations and even made me cry a few times (and I'm not a big tears person). I thought insurance was supposed to help us when we needed medical care, not add on stress and depression. So I hate Cigna, I don't know what other insurance companies are denying important operations, but I know Cigna sucks.