SARPE Surgery

[Collie]

Hi guys!

I had SARPE 6 days ago, i'm feeling a bit low and tired. I wonder when i can try to exercise to gain some energy.

Just do what feels right! I had my surgery on a Monday and I remember taking my dog on a (short) walk that Friday. It made me feel good. Just listen to your body and don't push yourself.

[Konbawa076]

Hi again,

Thanks Collie for your advice. It's been now three weeks since surgery and i'm feeling a lot better.
I 've stopped expending since Mondday and now I "just" have to deal with the gap.

But I wonder, it there anyone who had the surgery and expended in one side only?

See, my midline was way off and my bite was kind of okay in one side but totally off in the onther side, so they expended to the right the right part of my jaw.

5 days after we stopped expending (around 7mm), My right side, cheeks are a bit swollen. And i'm just wondering is that my new face or is the swelling going down even thought it's almost 3 weeks since the surgery

anyone can relate?

[thanosoftitan]

HI I'm trying to find a good Oral surgeon or TMJ specialist in the FLorida, Miami area, I would appreciate a good recommendation. I'm pretty terrified of the possibility of needing this surgery, but some of your posts have lessened my concerns. Very few people seem to have adverse effects after having the procedure. Thank you for your help, I hope everyone is healing well and recovering!!

[secondroundofbraces]

Hi everyone
Hope there a still some people active on this site.

I had sarpe surgery in November and honestly i feel really good.The only thing that bothers me is the expander.
I feel like it is dirty. Any tips on keeping it clean?
I have this itchy feeling in my gums lately.

[Vega]

I brushed my expander gently with a soft tooth brush and some toothpaste.
I also used my waterpik on a low setting to clean the expander and to rinse around the wounds.

[Collie]

Hi again,

Thanks Collie for your advice. It's been now three weeks since surgery and i'm feeling a lot better.
I 've stopped expending since Mondday and now I "just" have to deal with the gap.

But I wonder, it there anyone who had the surgery and expended in one side only?

See, my midline was way off and my bite was kind of okay in one side but totally off in the onther side, so they expended to the right the right part of my jaw.

5 days after we stopped expending (around 7mm), My right side, cheeks are a bit swollen. And i'm just wondering is that my new face or is the swelling going down even thought it's almost 3 weeks since the surgery

anyone can relate?

Yes, same situation. My crossbite was only on the left side so by the time I was done expanding, my left was about right but my right side upper teeth were wayyyyy too far out. I've been in elastics for the last 4 months and it is right the asymmetry. It's a slow process but your ortho can do a lot with elastics once you have the amount of expansion you need.

[Konbawa076]

My swelling eventually wore down. But still more than two months after my surgery I can’t feel properly the portion of my jaw that was expanded. Have you had that problem as well?

My ortho didn’t give me elastics I suppose it’s because I still have to undergo a double jaw surgery in about 10 monts.

[Cnicholas]

it seems everyone doing much better than me
im 39
day 3 post sarpe
still agony in my left tmj
had to go back to theater bleeding pterygoid plexus
spent two nights in intensive care unit
regretting the whole idea
cant open mouth
anyone else anything like this

[Cnicholas]

now day 4 post op
still in agony
cant open mouth
cant eat
lost so much weight
still coughing up blood
pain lt ear and hugely swollen left cheeek
cant get out of bed

[Cnicholas]

Well an update from me.
Not to scare anyone else considering sarpe, but for me what had been thought to be venous bleeding jnfact ended up being a pseudo aneurysm of the internal maxillary artery which had been injured at the time of surgery. Very rare.
I had it coiled angiographically a week after my sarpe.
I then had a pretty slow recovery. One month off work and am going to struggle to return to work tomorrow.
I also had a post operative infection.
Anyone else had anything like this?

[Sizuka]

Hello all .

This is just my first post . I am 40 years old and I decided that the time to fix my dysfunctional bite arrived .
I had my spacers 2 days ago . I am going to have 3 more visits to my Ortho , to also get my expander , and then at 21 May I ll also have my SARPE .
My treatment also include a simple TDA , full braces up and down and latter , a double jaw surgery .

This site is of great help , and especially this topic . I haven't manage to finish more than 10-15 pages of the topic , but it's a work in progress .

For now , as everyone here , my main concerns are ... 1. How big is going to be the gap - right now my front teeth are overlapping a bit and all the front tooth are crocked ( overcrowded a bit )
2. How I am going to tolerate the fact that most of the persons in my immediate circle say the same irritating thing : "Why you want to suffer so much in your age , your teeth is not so crocked" and
then when you mention the crosbite & overjet , "But how is this a big problem , if its like this for so long" - and nobody understand that my teeth are getting worsen day by day !
3. I am learning the flute , and I am worrying that is going to mess it completely . I guess till the swollen is down is going to be impossible to play .

That's for now . Happy to be here

[mjuszczak]

Hi everyone!

I'm a 35 year old male (almost 36). I have always had a severe cross-bite, and it's getting to the point where I'm shaving away at my bottom teeth - something needs to be done. After seeing a surgeon and an orthodontist, they want to do SARPE. I've been told everything: bone needs to heal for 12 weeks, liquid diet, space between teeth, face like a balloon, etc. All of that I can deal with temporarily. However... a few questions:

1) For those who have had SARPE, forgetting all the temporary effects, how did you feel a year later? About your appearance, changes, etc.
2) Did anyone feel like the surgery "aged" them, perhaps because of the side effects of the swelling, etc.?
3) My doctor said I only needed SARPE after I asked him about "LeFort 1/2". I forgot to ask if there's any chance I'll need a "follow up surgery" after SARPE/braces. But by him saying that, is it likely I only need SARPE?
4) I had braces as a kid, so my teeth are relatively straight. However, my upper palette is smaller than my lower, so I'm starting to wear my bottom teeth, hence going for SARPE. The orthodontist says he will do clear braces on top and metal on bottom. How long can I expect to have braces on for? I forgot to ask (but will make sure I do soon).

Thanks!

[newps]

This is my 1st post ...

I'm a 35 year old male with a cross-bite, crowding and an underbite.

My oral surgeon attempted the "normal" palatal expander (with cortical punctures) in June 2019 despite my fully formed adult palate. They made the punctures and surgically implanted the device in less than 2 hours (w/ IV sedation) at the surgeon's office. The expander became bent/warped after one week of turns and needed to be removed. I looked like a swollen chipmunk for nothing!

On to plan B ...

I had the SARPE procedure on August 16th. I was out (IV Sedation) for 2 hours and woke up with extreme discomfort in my right eye. They grazed it during the surgery. Other discomfort was mild compared to the issue with my eye. I felt better after 24 hours and medicated eyedrops. The swelling, nose bleeds, headaches from the SARPE procedure aren't fun either. Sleeping upright isn't great either. A couple weeks post-op, I woke up with a bad nose bleed, went to the bathroom to clean up and passed out while standing and hit my head on the bathtub. Luckily the fall didn't damage my already severed palate.

My orthodontist required a 9mm gap between my two front teeth (about 2 weeks of turning the expander).

Surgeon gave my orthodontist the OK to place the braces on me 1 month after I stopped turning the device.

Currently, I've had the braces on for only two days. They also placed three spacers to make room for two bands due to my rear-bottom crowns.

I can't wait for A)THE GAP TO CLOSE and B)THE LISP TO GO AWAY! These are hands down the worst parts of SARPE so far.

[mjuszczak]

Hi all! I am a week away from the final go/no decision on SARPE. Really having a hard time deciding.

I am a 36/m with a small upper palette. I had braces as a kid, but no expansion. So my teeth are generally straight but my bite is awful (sometimes the only teeth that touch when I bite is one set of back teeth -- tends to switch every day).

The oral surgeon wants to do SARPE on December 5th. After that, braces for about a year with an Orthodontist I've been seeing (who comes highly recommended). Of course doing this at 36 (and I'm still single nonetheless) is challenging but I also know if I'm going to do it, now's the time.

A few questions for everyone --

* How did you know you only needed SARPE and not follow-up jaw surgery? Did your surgeon tell you ahead of time? One of my biggest fears is that after SARPE and braces, I'll need another jaw surgery. My orthodontist "isn't 100% sure" I won't, but the surgeon never said anything about a follow-up surgery. I have a call-in to the resident to ask their opinion (as I forgot to ask at the in-person appointment).

* Is it true that you can't workout for 12 weeks? I work out almost every day, so that's going to be really tough.

* Was your weight loss substantial? I'm actually about 30 pounds overweight, and would try NOT to have rapid weight-loss as I don't want this procedure to prematurely age me into my 40s... rapid weight loss could cause significant wrinkles, etc.

* How long were you on soft foods? When could you talk again? Go for a walk outside? These are all things where I'm not 100% entirely sure what to expect.

* Did anyone look into MARPE or the DNA Appliance, etc.? My ortho hadn't heard of the latter but said I wasn't eligible for the former because of my age and the fact that he wants to have more control over symmetrical expansion.

Here's a before picture, "biting down", so you can see the cross-bite and smaller upper palette... but people don't tend to notice day to day, I'm mostly doing this because I'm tired of my teeth moving every day and grinding down my two front teeth:

https://ibb.co/wsfryX8

https://ibb.co/GJftMq4

Thank you for any help/insight!

[Vega]

Hi all! I am a week away from the final go/no decision on SARPE. Really having a hard time deciding.

I am a 36/m with a small upper palette. I had braces as a kid, but no expansion. So my teeth are generally straight but my bite is awful (sometimes the only teeth that touch when I bite is one set of back teeth -- tends to switch every day).

The oral surgeon wants to do SARPE on December 5th. After that, braces for about a year with an Orthodontist I've been seeing (who comes highly recommended). Of course doing this at 36 (and I'm still single nonetheless) is challenging but I also know if I'm going to do it, now's the time.

A few questions for everyone --

* How did you know you only needed SARPE and not follow-up jaw surgery? Did your surgeon tell you ahead of time? One of my biggest fears is that after SARPE and braces, I'll need another jaw surgery. My orthodontist "isn't 100% sure" I won't, but the surgeon never said anything about a follow-up surgery. I have a call-in to the resident to ask their opinion (as I forgot to ask at the in-person appointment).
My ortho stated it in my first ever appointement. I would need Sarpe and lower jaw surgery. But at that time it wasn't sure if I needed upper jaw-surgery as well. That became clear after Sarpe.
I had both jaws fixed a year after Sarpe. My midline was way off after Sarpe, so they had to adjust my upper jaw as well.


* Is it true that you can't workout for 12 weeks? I work out almost every day, so that's going to be really tough.
I don't work out... but I would advise to stick to this.

* Was your weight loss substantial? I'm actually about 30 pounds overweight, and would try NOT to have rapid weight-loss as I don't want this procedure to prematurely age me into my 40s... rapid weight loss could cause significant wrinkles, etc.
No not so much with this surgery, I was eating normal but in smaller bites after 3 days of soft foods. Not steak, carrots or other chewy/hard-foods. But pasta is doable, boiled potatoes with gravy, sausage, fish,...

* How long were you on soft foods? When could you talk again? Go for a walk outside? These are all things where I'm not 100% entirely sure what to expect.
3 days soft foods, I could talk after surgery with a small lisp but that was only the first couple days, no problem walking around.

* Did anyone look into MARPE or the DNA Appliance, etc.? My ortho hadn't heard of the latter but said I wasn't eligible for the former because of my age and the fact that he wants to have more control over symmetrical expansion.
No. Because I'm an adult other options were not discussed

Here's a before picture, "biting down", so you can see the cross-bite and smaller upper palette... but people don't tend to notice day to day, I'm mostly doing this because I'm tired of my teeth moving every day and grinding down my two front teeth:

https://ibb.co/wsfryX8

https://ibb.co/GJftMq4

Thank you for any help/insight!

I know there are a lot of horror-stories, but in my case it was okay. Yes, it's annoying having a device in your mouth but you'll adjust to it pretty fast.
Turning the expander was not so bad as I expected, I never had real pain, more a discomfort wich would go away with a light painkiller.
The gap... I never had comments about it, nobody noticed or they didn't care. It's weird, but it's only a few weeks.