titanium screw poking through jaw

[beccak]

does anyone have any experience related to screws poking through.

i am several years post op from the saggital split..et.. however..also had to recently have the whole thing redone...as well as tmj total joint replacement.

the screw started poking through after started braces again in preparation for the second surgery.

the surgeon was unable to remove the screw during the joint replacement because of risk of infection.
it is driving me crazy and we are going to have something done soon here.

the surgeon is planning to cut the part that is poking through rather than remove the entire screw.
(he is not the surgeon who placed it there) . i guess because of the joint replacement he doesnt want to go in and be doint a lot of jerking around.

does anyone have experience with this or suggestions.
it is getting to the point i think it is causing tonsils on right side to swell and increasing throat infections.
i dont seem to have an outright infection going on however it is sore..and i have a constant feeling of a lump in my throat on the side where the screw pokes through.

[sirwired]

Cutting it down seems like a reasonable action plan. While you don't need the screw any more, it's integrated in your bone, and would probably cause a bit of damage if it were to be forcefully cranked out.

[lattiee]

When did it start poking thru? I just had my plate removed when my screw was poking thru and then fell out during eating. So I learned if its working its way out its already loose as my OS should have put some coverage over the exposed plate and unscrew the other screw that was getting loose because during plate removal only two areas were the area of loose screws the rest they had to use lots of force to remove rest of screws which affects my lower jaw back side and around my right ear

[beccak]

sorry so long to get back.

i still have the screw...however..not bothering throat..now..i think had a virus.

i think probably it is best to have them just shorten it..
i feel it somehow is related to the first surgery..because it was done with severe arthritis in the tmj joints.
i had a cross bite..open bite..et. the jaw shifted to the side when i would open.
i believe the surgery was done with the joint off..to the point that when things remodeled..et..the screw started poking through.

the right jaw is still uneven to the left..(although not very noticeable from appearance).
thanks for comments.
i am very happy with the 2nd surgeon..and orthodontist and surgery..however bc of the problems from the 1st..and the years..i had the problem before any surgery was done..i will continue to have some chronic problems.
if any of you have arthritis in the tmj..or any type of difficulty keeping bite stable..do not have orthognathic done..unless you go to a surgeon who understands the joints. most likely you will need joint replacement along with your surgery. also..if you had bicuspids removed..make sure to have the spaces opened back up before your surgery. these are things i found out later. and had to be done after the fact.
make sure to find an orthodontist who understand fully how to re open the space..dont settle for anything less. i will have problems the rest of my life..because these issues were not treated correctly when i was young. dont ever have bicuspids removed...it is never the correct treatment.

[beccak]

I finally had screw removed yesterday. I have had repeated throat and tonsil problems again...so not sure if related. Anyway.. It was poking out quite a bit. I found an excellent surgeon who removed it as well as all the screw on that side of the jaw. I am thrilled and seem better already. He was able to remove the entire screw rather than filing it down. They use something similar to untwisting a nail from a wall et..evid they come right out.

I am seriously considering having the 3 screws on left side of jaw removed also.

I am supposed to have tonsils removed...however wondering if may not be necessary with screw out..as may have been the cause. I will see what the ent says at consult.
evid...sometimes the screw will strip..the head will strip off..or they cannot get them out...this happens then they file it down from the inside. Mine he said came out so easily that is why since already in there he surprised me and just removed them all for me on that side. Good call. They still have to make an incision to the inside of mouth in same area where sagital split was done. Then they also make small incision on outside skin. I have several absorbable suture inside mouth and a couple of regular ones on skin outside at jaw line. I had it done under general anes..however it can be done in the office. I have had very little soreness. Have not had to use prescription pain med..just using advil for swelling.
Main risk is infection so on antibioitics. Because i have artificial tmj joints in bilaterally I am having some stiffness and decreased opening..however surgeon said this would go back to normal opening soon. My tmj total joint replacement was done about a year ago and i have had excellent opening. Evid the minor surg to remove the screws..causes enough muscle tension that temporarily muscles stiff. He told me prior tom the surgery that would happen. I was happy to know that i could be intubated..et..and surge even though total tmj joint replacement and no problems or damage ton joints. They said it went smoothly. Hope this helps if anyone has to go through something similar.