Life Changing Surgery for our daughter, Lauren

For the past 15 years, Lauren has been under the NHS trying desperately to get a thorough investigation, accurate prognosis, and effective treatment for severe and debilitating jaw dysfunction. Sadly, this has had very little success. Lauren’s condition was never thoroughly examined, and it was presumed by numerous maxillofacial consultants that her pain was most likely muscular. She was told that stress and anxiety was likely causing her to clench or grind her teeth. Despite repeatedly going back and pleading for help, Lauren's condition continued to deteriorate.

Lauren's jaw is now permanently locked closed. Her mouth opening is restricted to just 18mm, she is unable to chew solid food and is entirely restricted to a liquidised diet. At just 29 years old she spends every day in horrendous pain, unable to enjoy what a typical 29-year-old should. It even hurts her to talk, meaning she has to avoid socialising in order to manage her pain, or opt to suffer the consequences of having a coffee with a friend.

At the end of last year, Lauren's weight and BMI dropped to a dangerously low level due to her inability to eat any solid food. She is now under the care of a dietician requiring prescription shakes to restore and maintain her weight.

After many trips to London to see leading specialists, we now know that Lauren has late stage Temporomandibular Joint Disease. This means that her jaw joint is catastrophically damaged; explaining why her function is so severely impaired and why the pain she is in is so severe. Her only option long term is a full TMJ replacement.

TMJ replacement surgery is reserved for only for the most severe cases of late-stage TMJ disease. The TMJ joint is an extremely complex joint that operates quite differently to other joints in the human body and replacing it is very risky (one of the biggest risks being paralysis of the facial nerve). As such, the surgery requires meticulous planning and preparation, by a very skilled surgeon.

There are only a handful of surgeons in the country who have the necessary skills and expertise to carry out bilateral jaw joint replacement surgery and most only work in private practice. The cost of this surgery is £80, 000.

Prior to her replacement, Lauren will need to undergo a level III arthroscopy where a camera is inserted into the joint space. To get this initial procedure on the NHS, Lauren could be waiting another 12 months. Fundraising for an additional £10,000 would mean Lauren could have this done promptly, which would speed up the process of her getting the replacement she ultimately needs.

All of Lauren's medical appointments require trips to London which have already cost over £2000. We hope that by setting our target to £95,000 we can raise as much as possible towards covering the cost of both surgeries, and Lauren's other medical and travel expenses.

Myself and Paul have supported Lauren as much as we can with private medical appointments and trips to and from London to access the answers and care she needs. We will continue to do all we can to support her, but we simply do not have this amount of money spare.

Any donation, no matter how small, would make a huge difference to helping Lauren get the surgery she needs as soon as possible so that she is able to eat, function, and ultimately get back to doing what matters to her most – supporting young people in residential care as a Psychological Therapist.

From the very bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your continued support.

Paul & Denise (Lauren’s Mum and Dad)