SARPE Surgery

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#901 Post by **wardenclyffe** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:04 am

Hey All,

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been reading. It's been a year and a few weeks since my sarpe surgery. I'm letting those who are still in the throes of all this that there is light at the end of the tunnel. My expander was removed in November (I think), and I've avoided a TPA so far. Instead, back in February, I got a removable retainer thingy, which is nicer than something cemented into my mouth. I think I've dodged having to get lefort 1 surgery (yay), and my orthos are very pleased with my progress and say that I might be out of braces early (earlier than the planned 3 years). I know not everyone has it as easy as I have (so far). But I remember how nice it was to have something to look forward to when I was swollen and miserable. It gets better. Braces still suck, but I have felt things have steadily improved over the course of the past year. I only wish the same for all of you.

Thanks,
Ward

#902 Post by **luke88** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:24 am

How are people's progress going who have recently had SARPE surgery during the last couple of months?

I had my surgery nearly 7 weeks ago and as far as healing is concerned, it's going well, I can not feel any swelling and I can feel my upper lip and cheeks properly again. But I still can't feel some of my upper jaw, near the teeth to be specific. I press on or even try to squeeze my gum and I simply can't feel it.
My gap is closing, all so slowly though.

I can eat absolutely anything I like but some food does tend to get trapped in the expander but after a little mess with my tongue, it clears up.

The results so far are a mixed bag to me. There is more room in my upper jaw that is for sure, but it still does not align its self with my bottom jaw. My bottom jaw is more rounded, whereas my upper jaw still has some narrowness to it. How much can braces actually change your jaw shape?
My front teeth on my upper jaw stick out quite a bit so the braces will be pushing them back, so probably my upper jaw will seem more rounded after this. I just wished I could see my ortho to clear this up but I don't have an appointment until August now. I would of been over 3 months post op and hopefully to get a date when this thing will be taken out of my top jaw, then come on the braces!

#903 Post by **Delag** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:39 pm

Luke - you are a lucky guy. Three months out and I still have swelling and it feels like my upper lip is stuck down with super glue. As of yesterday my teeth touch at the bottom only. My bite is so off that eating is still a challenge and I still can't bite with my front teeth at all. I had a follow up with my OS last week and he agrees that I shouldn't be swollen at this point. I got some heave duty anti-inflam drugs (three day dose only) but I don't see any difference. At this point I don't care - I am going on vacation tomorrow and I'll start to worry again in Aug. when I get back. See y'all next month

#904 Post by **badbite** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:59 am

Myt surgery was 6 months ago (that is hard to believe) and I finally feel pretty much normal except for some numbness in the gum above my front right five teeth. I am hoping that is normal. I thought for about four months that my lip would permanantly feel weird. I could feel the line where I was stitched up and thought maybe it would not go away. It did as all the feeling cam back.

#905 Post by **chipmunkcheeks** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:57 am

hey all!

i havent been on this thread in a while since my SARPE was now over a year ago (7/10/07), but when i went into surgery on 7/8/08 for upper/lower/genio, I STILL had some gaps!!! it just means i will wear braces longer after im healed. honestly, braces were a breeze compared to having 2 jaw surgeries, so i didnt care at all.

I just wanted to bump the thread up and welcome leuyfufu, who is having a SARPE tomorrow. Hopefully all of our insight will be of help, as it helped me so much last year.

Hope everyone is healing well and keeping a positive outlook on their recoveries! best of luck!

lisa

#906 Post by **lueyfufu** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:27 am

Thanks.

I didn't realize until meeting with my OS last week that there must be different kinds of SARPE surgeries. I've read about Brandi's SARPE experience, but her procedure sounds a little different from what mine is supposed to be.

To me, mine almost sounds like a Lefort I without the advancement part. Doc will be making cuts like in the red lines on this picture:

Hopefully she'll be a little more precise with the drill than I am with drawing lines with a mouse.

Have any of you had this?

#907 Post by **lueyfufu** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:52 am

I had my surgery yesterday and everything went well.

(Click the WWW link at the bottom of my post for the full update.)

We start expanding tomorrow. I'm a little nervous. I know it's going to feel so weird moving the bones in my face. And I'm terrified of the "pop" everybody talks about. What is that pop anyway?

#908 Post by **crazybeautiful** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:33 pm

Congrats, lueyfufu!

Don't be nervous about expanding- for the most part you can't feel it, and as for the pop- well I never had a pop! The only real pain I had was along the gumline where my stiches were...still dunno why that happened actually

But anyway- you'll be fine. The worst thing is living with the silly expander in your mouth!
Since you're about to start expanding-Here's to gaps! Past, present and future ones

badbite- I've actually noticed the gum above my front 2 teeth is still a bit numb. I didn't really think about it, but when you mentioned I thought, well, do I actually have full feeling back? Turns out no

- I can feel something, but it's not quite the full feeling.

#909 Post by **badbite** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:39 am

I never heard or had any kind of pop either.

I am relspsing, and my bite is really bad right now. Major crossbite on my left lower second premolar (?) and the top first pre molar(?). I am not sure what teeth they are, but I know they shouldn't hit straight on like they do.

The ortho said next adjustment I'll get a strong steel wire wich will pull the teeth out to make a nice round arch. He also said he'll start closing gaps. Do you think that will mean powerchians? elastics? I didn't ask at the time.

No lowers yet He said not unit September! He wants to wait for a root canal I need

. Besides that, my upper teeth are looking better than I ever though they could at this point.

The ortho also said it is tricky to band a crown. Heave you all heard that before? Maybe he meant without damaging it. I don't know. It all went so fast.

#910 Post by **lueyfufu** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:26 pm

I know this has probably already been discussed, but I haven't made it through all 60 pages of this thread yet.

When did the swelling peak for most of you?

And at some point did you switch from applying ice to applying heat? Or maybe even alternating between ice and heat? My post-op instructions said to apply ice and mentioned that heat wouldn't be helpful until after 36 hours.

#911 Post by **badbite** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:25 am

I hated the feeling of ice on my face. After Two days I only used warm wet washclothes. They really help. The doctor told me to continue the ice, but I didn't. I think after a week or so the swelling was getting better.

#912 Post by **chipmunkcheeks** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:29 am

luey- swelling usually peaks at day 4, that is why im an advocate of just getting through day four and then everything starts to get much better. mostly the first week isnt the brightest and its all up from then on. let us know how the swelling is going for you.

#913 Post by **lueyfufu** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:49 am

It seemed like it started to subside yesterday. (Let's see, surgery was Tuesday, so would that make yesterday day #3?) Hubby said he thought it looked better this morning. I think my right side is looking much better, and the left side is close behind.

I have faint bruising on either side of mouth, from the corners down to my chin. I have no idea why there would be bruises there since those parts of my face weren't operated on. Maybe that's where the surgeon grabbed to hold my mouth open?

I'm slowly weaning myself off of the ibuprofen. I took 800mg prescription pills for the first three days and cut back to 400mg non-prescription yesterday. I think it's working out well, and I may try only 200mg tomorrow. Mum thinks I'm crazy because I didn't make use of the Lortab (heavy-duty painkillers.)

We've turned my expander four turns so far. It seems like there's a little more room in the front of my mouth now - my tongue isn't hitting the expander - but I have no gaps between the teeth yet, so maybe I'm just becoming accustomed to the expander. I should've asked my ortho this and I kept forgetting; how many millimeters is each turn of the expander? Isn't it something like a quarter millimeter? Or does it differ for everyone? (I tell hubby it's most likey a quarter. That makes him feel less squeamish about turning it for me.)

I noticed when I brush that my top teeth and gums all feel sort of numb. From what I've read of everyone's experiences, this is not unusual. It's the only numbness I've had, so I'm not complaining, but it does make me worry that I'm not getting my top teeth clean enough since I have no idea where the toothbrush is when I'm brushing. I'm hoping the nasty anti-microbial mouth rinse will take care of that.

#914 Post by **lueyfufu** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:29 pm

So we're getting ready to do expander turn #8 today. Still no gap!

How many of you experienced the pop during expansion? And was it while you were turning the key, or was it just at some random time during the day?

#915 Post by **chipmunkcheeks** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:39 am

day 8 and no gap! i came out of surgery with a good 1-2 mm gap! did you have crowding of your upper teeth before this surgery, usually, if you do, then the teeth shift apart, then the gap will form. this also means that your teeth will move back together more quickly. i had surgery in july, and an acquaintance in october. he has serious crowding issues pre-surgery, and his gap was closed, wayyyyy before mine...also, make sure your hubby is turning it all the way. he should be able to insert the key for next time easily and slip it back out to make sure it went all of the way. also, one way to tell if you are making progress is by taking a pic of the expander, you will see the two bars running the same direction as the key turning getting farther apart. i know its like watching the water boil, but youll see a difference soon enough.

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