Recovering from numbness

Hello,
About 2 years ago, I had double jaw surgery for an open bite that doctors claimed I needed to get fixed. I wore braces for a good 6 years.  I received the surgery and while the operation did change my looks, I still prefer the older look.  there were several concerns that I had with the whole process

1. surgery was claimed to be the only option.  a year after the surgery, I went to a dentist that claimed that it would have been possible to fix my bite without surgery because of a special contraction that existed. Is this information available to all dentist?

2. I had asked if the surgery would drastically change my appearance.  The doctor who was seeing me through the process had said no since I was supposed to have single jaw surgery at the time.

3. There were several occasions where the doctor was incorrect in his assessment

a.  He claimed that I would only need single jaw surgery. After seeing the doctor for several months, 2 days before surgery, it was changed to double jaw surgery.

b. after surgery, a nerve was severed which I believe was downplayed and the doctor claimed that it is possible and not possible that the nerve will regenerate BUT "in my case" he thinks it will heal.

c. a few days after surgery, there was extreme pain in my left nostril.  The doctor claimed it was nerve pain.  After a while, the pain was so extreme that I couldn't smile and it got to the point  I couldn't sleep.  The next day, I went to the doctor and he still claimed nerve pain but called in the head doctor.  The head doctor said that there was a stitch that didn't dissolve and was pulling my flesh basically.

d. After 6 weeks, I asked the doctor if the swelling was done.  The doctor said that he believed the swelling was going down as much as it was going to go

2 years later, the numbness still exists in my lower jaw and it is extremely annoying. Are there procedures that I can have to restore feeling? Is it possible I can take legal action?

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

I'm not sure about legal action but if you have any concerns, you should definitely discuss it with your surgeon.  If you can't resolve it with your surgeon, I would consider going to the local dental society to find a peer review board to evaluate your case.  

As for the numbness, it is most likely permanent.  It takes about 6 months to heal and after that, it won't be able to heal anymore.  It will most likely stay that way it is.  You may want to see a neurologist to see if surgery is possible.