SARPE Surgery

[lalcharlie]

Really worried. My expansion stopped on April 11th and as the expander was such a bad fit the ortho has removed it and replaced it with a thick TPA across the back of the roof of my mouth on 2 bands instead of 4.
He reassured me everything would be fine but since Thursday I have noticed a bulge /ridge along my palate. I assume this is the soft tissue trying to revert to its previous state. My braces go on on Tues and I suppose thy will help to stop this relapse but it's tough to watch all that hard work do down the pan .
The gap of 2/3 mm between my front two teeth has disappeared and my mouth feels smaller. Disappointed .

[Psa]

Just had my SARME surgery performed yesterday. Pain hasn't been that bad, I got ibuprofen and paracetamol and was told to take these for a few days. wasn't really able to sleep the first night though, fingers crossed for tonight. I don't start turning the "key" for another week. The most annoying part is the swelling, I feel like my whole face is completely swelled up.

Awesome to read about other peoples experience, keep posting

[goku]

Periskir, as far as surgeries go SARPE is a simple one. It can be done in a dental office setting usually lasting less than 2 hours.

Lalacharlie that doesn't sound good. Seems really soon to remove it. My docs aren't removing my expander until the end of June.
Can you describe this bulge/ridge on your palate more? Is it soft like tissue or more hard like bone?

Psa, you'll be healed up and back to yourself soon. The recovery goes by fast. Enjoy watching movies in bed all day while it lasts!!
I just hit the 2 month mark and I'm back to eating cookies and chips. Chewing is still not great because bite is still off.

[Psa]

Hi Goku

It's so nice to hear encouraging Words. Thank you so much. Glad to hear you're able to eat more stuff now. I can't wait until I'm on soft foods and not liquid. How long did that take for you others though?

I think the "worst" part was actually getting my two bottom wisdom teeth pulled out

Thanks for replying!

[Gkc08]

I had my SARPE surgery May 6 and I'm concerned about my nose. My OS didn't expect any changes, but he put in an alar stitch to be safe. Anyways, I'm about 2.5 weeks post-OP and all the swelling appears to be gone, except the base of my nose is so much wider. I compared my nose to pre-OP pics and it's really kind of shocking how different my nose looks.

It kind of freaks me out because I know that I have to get a Lefort I, too, and that surgery definitely widens the nose! I don't want to have to get a nose job because of how big my nose gets from jaw surgeries.

Is it possible that I just have residual swelling in my nose?? (Hopefully???)

[snapdresser]

You could absolutely still have residual swelling in the nose, and if the doc did extra stuff to that area (i.e. the stitches), I think you could expect it.

[Gkc08]

[quote="snapdresser"]You could absolutely still have residual swelling in the nose, and if the doc did extra stuff to that area (i.e. the stitches), I think you could expect it.[/quote]

I'm seeing my OS next week so I'll definitely ask him about it! I also read somewhere that the muscles around your nose can get stretched by the expanding? Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Sadoozie]

^^Your swelling wont go away for at least a month, so dont worry just yet.

@lalcharlie, sorry to hear that about your expander! I still have mine in and my two front teeth aren't closed up yet. Theres about 3-4mm gap between them still. The feeling has come back in my teeth, but its still a little uncomfortable to brush sometimes. Next time i meet my ortho is on june 30th and hopefully they will give me a date for when to remove the RPE there.

[Psa]

Today is 10 days post-op and I'm feeling great. A lot of the swelling is Down, some still remains though.

@Gkc08 My ortho at the hospital in Copenhagen told me that swelling could last for another month or two, so as the others have mentioned, it could very well just be swelling.

I started feeling all good and like myself on the 8th day. Today I am totally fresh but of course not allowed to do any real physical activities, unfortunately.

[Gkc08]

Good to hear about the swelling timeline!

I also noticed that even 2-3 weeks post-op, I'm more swollen in the morning (I can feel it in my cheeks, too). Normal?

@Psa Glad to hear your recovery is going well! I remember my post-op nurse encouraged me to do some walking as it'd help the swelling, and I threw in some light stretching as well. It was better than sitting on the couch all day

Oh, and I forgot to add... this is for any random reader who might have gone through the same thing I did. But for 5-6 days post-op, I was always nauseated and experienced vertigo when I titled my head back, rolled over in bed, or did any sudden movements with my head. Thankfully it went away with the swelling, and now I only experience it very little (to the point that I don't really care). I remember freaking out a bit because my OS told me he's never heard of it, so hopefully writing this helps out someone.

[goku]

Gkc, It very well could have widened but I would give it time to heal and everything to settle before judging. My nostrils didn't really widen from the surgery but it seems like there's a slight difference in tilt between them corresponding to the tilt I experienced during the palatal expansion. No one can notice it but me. I hope it goes away as they align my teeth but if not it's not a huge deal.

Psa, glad to hear you are recovering well! Within 2 months you'll be able to eat cookies and chips no sweat

[Psa]

Turning the expander wasn't as uncomfortable as I had initially thought. I was "scared" it would hurt. But, I can't really feel anything while doing it. I've only been turning for a week today though, maybe it'll start being uncomfortable when it gets wider, as some have mentioned. Oh yeah and there's only a tiny amount of swelling now, I can barely see it.

@Gkc08 - You're absolutely right, I've been taking walks too, it was good to get out a little in the first few days.

How long did it take for peoples stitches to fall out?

@goku - I can't wait to start eating normally (red meat! ) - I can eat chicken now, if it's tender and I eat it very slowly. Besides that I mostly have rice or pasta and then eat with a teaspoon

Hope everyone is recovering well!

[Gkc08]

Went to my OS for my second post-op visit. I asked him if there was still some swelling present in my nose area and he said "nope"! But then he said I would feel like that area was swollen because lymph fluid drains very slowly from the nasal area... which seemed contrary to him saying the swelling was gone. Perhaps he meant the swelling was no longer visible to others?

@psa all my stitches fell out by 2 weeks! Hope the recovery is going well.

@goku You're right, I'm just such an impatient person. Logically I know I should wait until my expansion is done and my face has had several months to "settle in," but I guess I have a built-in worry wart.

[lalcharlie]

Hello guys! Just checking in. My SARPE was 25th March, expanded 10mm, expansion device removed early due to it being a poor fit and replaced with heavy TPA. Now braced but they're not activated (ortho waiting for definite bone formation) until July. Seem to have had a mm or two relapse and I think if I was in the USA I'd have had maybe 13 mm expansion but the experts are satisfied so who am I to argue? All in all I have learned:
*experts change their minds A LOT
*you don't need all the fancy syringes or special gear
*SARPE isn't too painful afterwards and regular painkillers are fine
*expansion mentally freaked me out to start with but became a little addictive towards the end!
*I did lose 6lbs but I did get used to eating with the expander eventually
*you NEVER get used to the expander, it's the worst part of the process
*I wish someone had told me it wasn't a big deal as I think I was unduly worried before going into this
*no process is without hassles and setbacks
*BUT I am very pleased with the results and it will only get better as the braces do their job

Hope this is useful. Much love to the people who were there for me as I muddled my way through this and good luck to those about to make the decision to go for it!!

[goku]

Yay lalacharlie I'm happy everything is working out for you!! I was worried. Everything is going well for me now too. Gap is almost closed and just started wearing diagonal rubber bands to fix left-right asymmetry. I just have to let time and the braces do their magic now.