I had a unilateral (one side only) SARPE and 2 micro screws placed. My expander was placed a week before surgery. My ortho offered to put it in the day before, but I am very glad that I had the week to get used to it. Yes, it is a pain in the rear end, but it is not nearly as horrible as I had feared. The expander is attached to the second to last molars in the back with bands. The front bands didn't fit well so they attached the front of the expander with wire that wraps around the expander bar and goes thought the gums and is twists around the tooth.
My surgery was out patient and I was home in 3 hours - the surgery itself took one hour. They gave me some meds to take in the morning so I was relaxed when I got there. I suppose the surgery was fine....I was sleeping so I can't say that I remember much.
When I woke up, I remember thinking, 'yea, I am finally done´. I was a little groggy, (like when you wake up from a nap) but I wasn't out of it - I knew where I was and why right away. I did make a bit of SARPE history. Not only did I only have one side released, I had a complication that I had never read about before. My palate split during the surgery and I had stitches up there. That was probably the most uncomfortable part of this whole thing. The OS said the bone was unusually thick and he couldn't get separation with the saw alone so he went for the chisel. Normally he puts a finger on the palate so he can feel his way along, but with my RPE in there wasn't enough space. He had an assistant eyeball it and that is why the skin perforated. He turned 15 times to open, and then closed it back 17 times.
I was on liquid diet for the first 5 days or so. This was more because my palate was too sore with the stitches than anything my doctor said. I am to be on a no chew diet for 6 weeks. Chewing would be impossible at this point anyway because my teeth don't meet anywhere.
Anyway, the only discomfort I had was in in my tmj (the doctor doesn't know why that hurt as he did the surgery with the mouth closed), and from the split palate . I am took Advil and Tylenol in bumped up doses for the first few days, and after day 5 or so I was taking regular Advil. . I was numb from my lower eyelid to my top lip the first day. The under eye swelling was the most bothersome as it threw my vision out of focus, but that only lasted one day. Peak swelling was between day 3 and 4, after that everything got better. Two weeks out I am still puffy. I used ice for the first 48 hours and then switched to heat.
The surgeon placed an Alar stitch to keep my nostrils in place and another stitch in the lip to help prevent it from thinning out too much. The Alar stitch is still quite uncomfortable at two weeks out. It really pulls when I laugh or smile. If I am caught off guard and laugh at something, it hurts enough to bring tears to my eyes. The doctor said to try and keep the stitch in place as long as I can (IE - no laughing or smiling) so it can do it's job. I have no feeling in my gums, or in the middle of my upper lip.
One week post op I went back to the OS and started turning. I do 4 turns a day - two in the morning and two in the evening. The first turn feels like nothing, the second makes my palate sting and the bridge of my nose feel a bit of pressure. It has been easy to turn the key myself - it is attached to a nice long plastic stick and all I have to do is insert the key in the hole and push back till I see the next hole come into view. So far I have done 32 turns and I have expanded 7.9 mm (or so says the OS who measured it today). My gap is 5.2mm big. One front tooth is sitting much lower than the other - the OS says this is normal and to stop freaking out about it. The problem is that I keep hitting the stupid tooth with my spoon, glass, fork....
I have been given the OK at two weeks to use my WaterPik an sonic toothbrush. I also can start back at the gym with light weights and light cardio. I spent a long weekend out of town....shopping. Food choices are limited, but I did well with quiche, fish, soup, yogurt....etc.
Anyway, that is my SARPE experience....well, the first two weeks of it at any rate. I hope it helps someone in the future as so many people here on Archwired have helped me. My fear was in pain and being off my feet for too long. Really, the first 4 days were difficult, but after that I felt like myself again. I was also afraid of how I would look. I still don't know what the end result will be, but my DH said - you look like you, but with a big gap between your teeth, so I guess I can't be too deformed.
. For me, cutting open the palate was planned, though, and my RPE wasn't fitted until the op, to stop it getting in the way. I agree that stitches in the roof of the mouth aren't much fun.
I'll get a TPA that day too.
Oh well..
). I've got to get 2 extractions though first. I'm not too keen on having 2 healthy teeth pulled, but there's just not enough room in my mouth! (I have 2 teeth basically behind my front 2, and my canines above them. My teeth are messed up 
)
