Winnipeg man ‘in constant pain’ after nearly 3-year wait for jaw surgery

Daniel McClelland never thought he would have to wait for almost three years to be able to eat solid foods again.

“I can do pancakes, but I kind of have to shove them in — slurp it in, if you will,” said the 38-year-old Winnipegger, who is on a waitlist for a jaw joint replacement surgery that can’t be done in Manitoba. 

“I can’t open my mouth at all or chew,” he said, leaving him limited to soft foods like soups, yogurt, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and protein shakes. 

In June 2021, McClelland was referred to an Ontario oral and maxillofacial surgeon — a surgeon who specializes in oral surgery, including the mouth and jaw — after a previously removed bone growth returned, causing his jaw to lock.

“I asked when my surgery was coming and where I was on the waiting list. No one can give me an answer,” he said.

He’s living on disability benefits right now. His lack of a proper diet means he’s constantly tired and cannot work, he said.

“I am in constant pain,” said McClelland. “I have to crush my pain pills to get them into my mouth. I am not supposed to, but I have no other way.” 

He said his jaw issue dates back to when he had a tonsillectomy in 2010. 

Surgical aggravation led to a bone growth, which caused his right jaw joint to stop functioning. He tried to ignore the problem for years, but finally saw an oral surgeon in Winnipeg.

“The surgery I had in August 2020 was to make a joint out of a piece of my rib — not so much a rib surgery as a piece of rib was needed,” he described. 

He spent the weeks following that surgery doing jaw exercises, and his mouth was slowly opening back to a normal range of motion, he said. But then his jaw began to lock again.

“The doctor couldn’t figure out why … so they finally did an X-ray around late October 2020 and noticed a rare bone growth called osteochondroma.”

‘Low demand’ for procedure: Shared Health

McClelland says his Winnipeg surgeon referred him to a specialist in Mississauga, Ont., for a jaw joint replacement in June 2021.

He spoke via Zoom with a doctor who “didn’t really give me a specified date … and I’m still waiting,” McClelland said.

“They told me they knew I was on a list but they couldn’t tell me where I was on this list. I was getting conflicting information.”

Jaw joint replacement is “a highly specialized surgery,”