Sarpe and mandibular distraction

[jake95]

Well, it's been a long fight with the insurance company (3yrs) and and many people losing my paperwork, I finally have approval for surgery. Chicago29 I hope your still on here because I will be PMing you. Here's a quick history. I have been in braces for 3 years, my ortho told me from the beginning I need jaw surgery. I had my OS consult right before I had my braces put on, only to hear I needed upper and lower sarpe( msdo) and then the bsso/lefort thing. Both carrying a heavy price tag 13000/40000$. Of course my insurance cover none of it. I instead tried to save for the sarpe(s) surgery out of pocket while fighting the insurance company. I new if all I got was the sarpe's I would be able to breath better ( my main goal).
After long fight with my insurance which will still do nothing, my wife was able to get me on her plan. The only catch is the will only pay for the first surgery then revaluate me after another sleep apnea test. Woohoo I'll take it. I'm glad I saved though because my OS is out of state so I have to pay up front and payed back at a later date. So they say.

Sorry guys it's a long story so I'll finish with this. Thx for all the post I've read so far they are helping me. Surgery date is 2/9/11. I hope u guys are still reading these so I can get some advice later.

[chicago29]

I'm here...Sounds like you are getting the works. I had the same treatment. My SARPE/MSDO was in 2/09, and my bi-maxillary procedure was done this past September. I'm now about a month away from being debanded.

I'm here if you have any questions - Feel free to ask or PM me.

Oh, and by the way, it is common for insurance to do what they did with the approval - Mine didn't approve both surgeries up front either. I had to resubmit everything and have it approved for the 2nd procedure a few months before I was ready for it.

You're in for a long and difficult road - I won't lie to you. But I'm proof that you can do it!!!

Best of luck to you,
Chicago29

[jake95]

Thx Chicago, what really sucks is I have ibraces which are the ones molded to the inside of my mouth. My OS says he can work around them, I'm just worried about having all this crap behind my teeth. Upper and lower rpe and braces behind the teeth, this is going to suck.
How much time did u take off work bud.

[chicago29]

I'd say that the most inconvenient part of all of this was the upper/lower expanders in my mouth. At first, you're going to drool a ton and you simply won't be able to talk at all. But I promise you, each day will get better. After a few weeks you'll be talking close to normally. Once I was back at work I was giving presentations so I promise you that it WILL get better. With you having lingual braces, though, it could make things harder. I also don't see how they can seat expanders in your mouth with lingual braces, but I'm no orthodontist so perhaps they have a way to do this.

For my first surgery I took 4 weeks off work. I needed the entire time off. I personally found the SARPE/MSDO harder than the bi-maxillary procedure (but perhaps that was because the first one I didn't know what I was in for, and the second one I did).

For the second surgery I took 5 weeks off work, but I could have returned after 3 weeks if I had to. There was no rush to return and I figured I may as well get completely healed before returning...it takes a good 3 to 4 weeks to get your full energy back.

I do computer work, but I work directly on site with customers so I was conscious about appearance. The best situation is if you can work from home at first and then ease back in to your regular routine. Your appearance is going to depend on how much you bruise/swell. Everybody is different in this regard...

All in all, it really depends on what you do for a living to determine how much time off you need. One thing for sure I'd try to get at least 4/5 weeks off for each surgery, and it is better to return early as opposed to saying you'll be back in 2 or 3 weeks and you still feel like crap.

Hope that helps.

-Chicago29

[jake95]

thx for the info again chicago, I'm a firefighter so it going to be a b@#$tch for me to go back to work. but I'm lucky that i can shift trade with people so i can get some extra time off. I'm working my butt of right now for other firefighters so they can cover me for 4 weeks. I'm basically working a straight 96 hour shift then have 48hrs off then do it all over again. it sux now but i will have February off without burning to much sick time. Do you mind if i ask who and where you had you surgery with. I'm getting mine done by Dr. Arnett and Gunsen in santa barbara. which is out of state for me but they were highly recommended. Oh and i have no idea how the can keep my linguals on and have the rpe as well. this question will be asked at my next ortho app. merry christmas bud.

[chicago29]

When I saw the $40,000 price tag on the second surgery I thought you may be going to Gunson/Arnett! Only they charge that much. They are the true "rock stars" of jaw surgery, so you're absolutely in good hands. Being in Chicago I would never dream of doing the surgery away from home, but people do and they seem to handle it just fine. If I would have considered out-of-state doctors I would have went to them myself.

Are they doing your first expansion surgery too? The price tag on that ($13K) is only slightly more than I paid...which makes me wonder why their bi-maxillary charges are so insane.

Anyway, I had my surgery done in the Chicago Suburbs by Dr Richard Balcerak. He's an amazing surgeon and I'd recommend him to anybody.

Best of luck to you with the work situation and keep me posted as your date nears...It will be here before you know it!

Take Care
Chicago29

[jake95]

They are doing both surgeries. The jaw surgeons here in Vegas are crap so my only choice was out of state. My ortho would only recomend arnett and gunsen on this side of the country so I went with it, craping when I saw the price tag but oh well I guess.

[jake95]

Hey Chicago, I hope Your xmas was nice. I had a question about the device for the msdo, a couple actually. Can u tell me what the device looks like and how it was in your mouth. Was the adjustment screw behind you bottom lip. If u had any pic of it that would be great. Have a great new year.

[jake95]

Hey Chicago, I found out how they will to the expander with my lingual braces in. They are going to attach the rpe with screws into my bone. So the expander won't be touching my teeth. Crazy!!! Happy new year

[chicago29]

Jake

I forgot about using a bone-borne expander. You're really signing up for the works here and I respect your courage and enthusiasm. Those expanders have to be surgically removed after you've healed up, but I've read they are actually more stable.

Keep me posted as you near your first surgery. Also I just remembered I never emailed you a pic of my lower expander. I can still do that if you want, but I guess it won't look anything like what you'll be wearing.

Take Care
Chicago29

[jake95]

i dont know about courage, i'm scared sesame. the original plan was to remove the linguals and place normal braces on at time of surgery. when i was at the ortho yesterday i was asking him how is it possible to have linguals and an rpe, thats when he told me gunsen decided to go with the bone bourne device. NEWS to me, i have never heard of this thing. but all i can do is just go with it i guess. if u can i would still like to see pics of your devices, its hard to find this stuff online. thx bud

[BracketRacket]

I had a bone-borne expander when I had SARPE in May. There are pictures in my story, click on the link in my signature if you want to check them out. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about it. Good luck!

[jake95]

Thx BR.

[jake95]

I'm official getting nervous. After finding out I am getting bone borne devices top and bottom, then seeing BR bone borne torture car jacking device on the roof of his mouth. Well, piss this sux. I hope I can handle this with my lingual braces in. Thats a lot of metal in my mouth. Thx for the pics Chicago, and thx for any advice as well BR.

[chicago29]

You'll do fine, jake. It **is** scary no doubt, but it is human nature to have fear of the unknown. You're under the care of a very competent surgeon as well. It is going to take a while for you to get used to all that metal, but I promise you that you will...