Has Anyone had Plate Removal?

[marycotter1982]

Tilly and Arvensis, did you have any side effects (additional numbness, nerve damage, damage to teeth or tissues) during the plate/screw removal? Also, was all of your hardware able to be removed? Was it done under local anesthetic or in operating room? If OR, how long was the surgery.

I am trying to decided whether to go for full removal of all hardware after 10 years (both jaws) which requires surgery or just remove 2 plates/screws on top that are infected under local anesthetic.

[itsblackpepper]

I had mine removed after a year under general anesthesia at a hospital. I was extremely swollen for 3 days but most of the swelling subsided within 2 weeks. I am one month post now and there is stiffness and numbness in my chin and one side of my upper lip. My skin is still improving and “draping”. I hope I feel more like myself in another month. The surgery took about 45 mins and my insurance statement says 26k. I had a total of 4 plates 16 screew out from the sides of my nose and two below my chin area (between premolars). Honestly I’m concerned about the numbness. I was numb in these same areas during initial surgery and it subsided in a couple months

[Vitalerik]

Arvensis wrote:
> Realize I'm incredibly late to this party, but Tilly's comments sound
> exactly like what happened with me. I had upper jaw surgery in 2007 and
> just had the bone plates removed last Tuesday (12 years later) because of
> ongoing sinus issues related to plates. ENT who did my plate removal says
> screws/plates infected and they had to go (I had weird swelling in my face
> under eye that prompted the visit).
>
> Anyway, very swollen two days out but ready for this to be done and gone
> with. No more party tricks telling people to touch the hardware in my face
> (one set of screws I could sort of touch in my face through the cheek).

Hello, I'm new to the forums but I signed up because I wanted to ask you a question.

@Arvensis, 1) where you able to get the plates removed after 12 years? and Was it easy for them to remove?
2) Did you get any screws? If you did, did you remove them too?
3) Did your bone fully grow back normally after plates (screws, if you had any) were removed?
4) Can you fully feel your face? (Are your nerves healed?)

[snapdresser]

Hello, I'm new to the forums but I signed up because I wanted to ask you a question.

@Arvensis, 1) where you able to get the plates removed after 12 years? and Was it easy for them to remove?
2) Did you get any screws? If you did, did you remove them too?
3) Did your bone fully grow back normally after plates (screws, if you had any) were removed?
4) Can you fully feel your face? (Are your nerves healed?)

I’m not Arvensis, but I had a plate and associated screws removed about 3 years post-op. My surgeon said it was a bit of a pain to dig them out of the bone as they had been covered pretty well by then. The bone grew back just fine after that. I can feel my face just as well as before the plate removal. My surgeon said that the risk of nerve injury is mostly related to cutting the jaw in two and how they stretch and secure it after that. A nicked (or severed) nerve when cutting can cause permanent numbness, and a stretched or pinched on based on the surgery process and new placement can cause damage as well. As such, she advised me that removing plates and screws are lower risk in terms of nerve damage. It’s still possible, but less likely.

[Zod]

Waking up during surgery sounds terrifying.

I'm wondering about my upper plates. I had double jaw surgery for sleep apnea. Almost a year post op and one plate feels twice as big as the other. I assume obviously they are the same size.so why would I feel one as much larger than the other? I initially thought it was swelling but I don't think that at this point. Would one plate sticking out more.than the other signify an alignment issue?

[Anaamber]

Tilly wrote:
> Wondering if anyone is years out from their original surgery. Had my
> surgery with plates when I was 16, am now 49 and having autoimmune issues
> and chronic severe sinus infections with moderate to severe headaches. Will
> be seeing an oral surgeon this month, but dont know what to expect.
> Appreciate any input.


Hi, I also just made an account to do some research on the effectiveness of this plate removal surgery. I had a maxillary osteotomy done in 2014 and today (Feb 2023) had the procedure to remove only four screws on the right side of my upper jaw due to the screw being close to a dental root that is having some issues. I wanted to know if you’ve had any further complications after your plate removal.

I hope you are doing well and thank you for sharing your experience. It’s too bad that a lot of this information was not provided by the surgeon who conducted this procedure on me. I’m trying to relieve my anxieties

[segevez]

well i had a stubbing feeling through my skin and year ago the doctor extract that nail and i can sleep and my condition didn't change except that relief, month ago i extract a nail that brushing my nerve and for now the nerve scream as expected and still didn't stabilize or healed (still healing),

so for at least i can say to you that if the doctor don't extract a nail near a nerve you should be fine from my understanding, unless he drills your bone if the nail doesn't come out easily, and that i cannot answer you but from what i did understand from the doctor it shouldn't affect.

if its near a nerve it seem it can amplify it and the healing of the nerve become questionable.

i still question mine especially when i am month from that surgery.