SARPE Surgery

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#1231 Post by **AFLeadDog** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 9:20 pm

Holy Crap!! So there I was about 10pm last night and I decide to do my 3rd to last turn on my upper expander, as I slide the key into the hole it didnâ€™t stop at the bend in the key as it had done for the past few weeks on both the top and bottom RPEâ€™s...Calm, cool, and collected I think to myself, ok...just pull it out and reinsert and complete the turn...so I pull on the key and nothing...I pull a bit harder and nothing...I twist the key back and forth and pull andâ€¦ nothing!! I go into the living room with a key stuck in the expander and a large piece of blue plastic hanging out of my mouth and I tell my wife "Honey I sink I have a probremâ€

#1232 Post by **sarpevictim** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 3:09 pm

colorpurple, it's the swelling. They do cut into your nasal cavity so the bottom of your nose does get swollen. Mine was swollen for about 2 weeks (that's the deepest cut so it stays a while). To be honest I kind of liked my swollen nose, and now it's gone.

Oh well.

AFLeadDog, that's crazy! How much expansion did you do? Do you think you might have reached the end of the expander capacity? My ortho told me to be careful and not to turn if there's resitance during my last few turns because the screws will fall out or something.

At least you got it out and don't have to walk around with a key hanging out of your mouth.

#1233 Post by **Sleclerc** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:38 pm

FLleaddog, Thats crazy you had some serious expanding to do. I havent turned in about two weeks. Did your Ortho say when youll be alowed to remove the expander? Im jonesing to have mine gone, only of course if it wont mess up my results.

#1234 Post by **avy** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:08 pm

So I had SARME surgery just over 2 weeks ago. Surgery lasted about 40 mins and I was able to go home the same day which was great. The first few days were uncomfortable but not too bad. I could sleep pretty well which was the important thing but when I woke up in the mornings the swelling was at its worst. I was pretty swollen but it has gone down alot in the last few days especially. I still have some on my upper lip and around my nostrils but people at work are saying I look 'normal'. I have numbness around my cheeks and even all the way up to my eyes which is weird but I'm told this is perfectly normal. I think the worst part of it all was the fact that I didnt look like myself which really got me down. I just had to remind myself that it was only temporary and the end result would be worth it. I would imgaine everyone feels this way though.

I only have 7 more turns of the expander left which is great - I think the gap is big enough already! I need around 7 - 7.5mm of expansion so the ortho will tell me next Monday if I need to do anymore. I'm turning once a day which is compleltely pain free and I only get minimal tension afterwards. I was able to eat rice and overcooked pasta on day 3 so I was never really on a liquid diet. I did have a fair amount of ice cream though just because I could

I even started light exercise last week (after the approval from the OS) so that felt good to get the body moving again. The worst part is definitely over so the next big thing are the braces which will go on 6 weeks after I stop expanding.

#1235 Post by **AFLeadDog** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:29 am

Sleclerc, My Ortho for a lack of a better description safety wired my expanders in place so they will not be able to turn. My next Ortho is Oct 26th to get these evil contraptions off and my braces on. My Ortho mentioned I may need another surgery to move my lower jaw forward by 3-4 mm depending on what happens when I get braces on... I thought my bite was decent before expanding?? I guess moving both eye teeth into place on top and fixing what my Ortho calls a drawn curtain on the bottom may not be able to keep it the same...is that normal?

I still have to see the OS one more time in mid Jul. Hopefully he will clear me to eat semi solid foods....I so miss chewing!!!!

How are things for you? did you end up expanding equaly or just one side and how much did you end up expanding.

#1236 Post by **abonelli** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:32 pm

I finally got my braces two weeks ago, and since then I've made it successfully through both my prom and graduation. It was quite a relief to not have the gap at either functions. Both nights went well, and I coudln't have asked for anything better. I'm starting to finally see great results, and I'm so happy I went through the whole process, because for a while I did have my doubts. Anyways I'm leaving for New Zealand on Thursday so I won't be here for a while. Everyone going through the difficult post surgery conflicts, hold your head high!

Oh and p.s. I had to put some prom pictures up:

#1237 Post by **Sleclerc** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:58 am

Yes mine tied off my expander as well. Im not sure how much room was made byt my left eye tooth which used to be high with no room to come down is now moving nicely down. I so hoping they can remove this expander before october. I already have braces. Im not sure about the drawn curtain....Im the opposite of you as I was originally needing a setback, but my OS doesnt think I may need it now afterall. Woo hoo its already covered but we will have to wait and see how my teeth cooperate! I go back to my Ortho on the 6th, I forsee some pain coming..

AFLeadDog wrote:Sleclerc, My Ortho for a lack of a better description safety wired my expanders in place so they will not be able to turn. My next Ortho is Oct 26th to get these evil contraptions off and my braces on. My Ortho mentioned I may need another surgery to move my lower jaw forward by 3-4 mm depending on what happens when I get braces on... I thought my bite was decent before expanding?? I guess moving both eye teeth into place on top and fixing what my Ortho calls a drawn curtain on the bottom may not be able to keep it the same...is that normal?

I still have to see the OS one more time in mid Jul. Hopefully he will clear me to eat semi solid foods....I so miss chewing!!!!

How are things for you? did you end up expanding equaly or just one side and how much did you end up expanding.

Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:52 am

A quick update from me for my SARPE buddies badbite and sauerkraut-

I now have the steal wires on and some springs to try and close the gap. It hurts, but it needs to be done! I'm still set for December, so hopefully the gap will close and nothing will go wrong. I might be having another surgeon this time though, because mine is on maternity leave. I don't really mind, so long as they don't put it off until she is back, though I doubt they would (but I've come to think of the worst so I don't get too disappointed- because I've been waiting so long

)

I saw my old moulds from before SARME and I can't believe the change. My ortho and assistant said I'll have great results and my teeth look great currently, so that was nice

Sat Jul 04, 2009 1:15 pm

Just a bit of a bump, and I've decided to start a blog about the surgeries, etc (to keep me occupied really):

http://crazybeautifulsurgery.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you want, but it's a bit bare still!

Sat Jul 04, 2009 3:33 pm

Sorry to be a posting fiend but I'm super happy right now: was just brushing my teeth, using the interdental brushes (can't floss still from the last appointment- my teeth are killing)- and my tooth has started to move! My tooth that has stayed put for probably a year now is finally moving in to close the gap. Whooooooooooooo

That is all, I'm going to bed

#1241 Post by **sauerkraut** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:55 am

Glad you're seeing some progress, CB. Here's hoping it all works out for December. Good idea with the blog: I've often wondered about starting one then baulked at the idea of all the catching up I'd have to do

Sun Jul 05, 2009 12:56 pm

I'm happy for the changes just so I know progress is happening and December is still in sight. My ortho was telling me I might have a different surgeon though, because mine is on maternity leave and had some complications with an infection and blood loss, so she probably won't be back in time. Now I don't mind (and congrats to my surgeon, and get well soon) but I suppose it's nice to have the same person who really knows your progress too. So long as the surgeon knows what they're doing and does it well, I don't mind really

I know what you mean about the blog- I've finally got up to date, but it seems so muddled and I keep thinking have I already mentioned this? do I need to write about this first, then this?...etc. But it's there now

How are things coming along for you?

#1243 Post by **avy** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:15 pm

I have a question for all SARPE victims!
How was your speech while your expander was in? Mine has not improved at all since i've had it in which is 1 month today. Does it get any better or am i doomed to talk funny until this thing is taken out in December?

Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:55 am

Sorry to say but generally the speech doesn't improve 100% until the expander is out. You will certainly get more used to it, but you'll probably find some letters or words you just cannot say because of the restriction of tongue movement. For me the main problems were with k, q and s sounds

#1245 Post by **sauerkraut** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:10 am

I'm afraid I have to agree with crazybeautiful. You do adapt, and it definitely gets much better than at the beginning, but I noticed my speech remained a bit "different" right up until the expander was taken out. The more you practise the easier it gets though. I've just copied and pasted the rainbow passage for someone on the main message board as that's good for practising with. Oh, hang on, might as well bung it in here as well:

"When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above , and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Throughout the centuries men have explained the rainbow in various ways. Some have accepted it as a miracle without physical explanation. To the Hebrews it was a token that there would be no more universal floods. The Greeks used to imagine that it was a sign from the gods to foretell war or heavy rain. The Norsemen considered the rainbow as a bridge over which the gods passed from earth to their home in the sky. Other men have tried to explain the phenomenon physically. Aristotle thought that the rainbow was caused by reflections of the sun's rays by the rain. Since then physicists have found that it is not reflection, but refraction by the raindrops which causes the rainbow. Many complicated ideas about the rainbow have been formed. The difference in the rainbow depends considerably upon the size of the water drops, and the width of the colored band increases as the size, of the drops increases. The actual primary rainbow observed is said to be the effect of superpositioning of a number of bows. If the red of the second bow falls upon the green of the first, the result is to give a bow with an abnormally wide yellow band, since red and green lights when mixed form yellow. This is a very common type of bow, one showing mainly red and yellow, with little or no green or blue."