Has anyone had this surgery?

I'm in my 30's, and have always been in need of braces. I finally decided to take the plunge, and my Orthodontist claims this surgery is a must have, as well as a pallet expansion piece on the roof of my mouth for 6 months after this surgery, for him to provide me with Orthodontic treatment.

I refuse to get this surgery, or to have any foreign objects on the roof of my mouth. It was explained, and I also googled it, that this surgery will infact make the teeth worse by putting a huge gap in between my 2 front teeth for 6 months up to a year, before making the teeth better.

I'm in a professional field. So to have my teeth get severely worse for that long, is not an option for me. Not to mention the blogs I read, the people that had the surgery said it was extremely painful, they were unable to eat anything more than soup for over a month, and on top of it, their face was swelled up and bruised for well over a month. What adult can go to work daily, looking like that?!

Maybe I'm just a grown baby, but I am not putting myself through that. I am going to get a second opinion from another Ortho. But I just wanted to hear personal stories of anyone that was told they needed this, but received treatment without it.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.