SARPE Surgery

[Anastasia8]

It's amazing how quickly we can mentally and physically adjust, kind of reassuring for next year when I have my bimax and genio, I know that I will get through it. Have you got any more ops or are you all done now, bar the braces of course?

My bite is all kind of screwed, one side is pretty much edge to edge, I must look horrific trying to eat there's just no way to do it elegantly. Hopefully the braces will work their magic quickly, get them on next week so we shall see...onwards and upwards

[Soph26]

I am supposed to have the second big surgery in 2014 to correct my bite (tilting my top jaw and moving it back I think). I've only been told the Dutch name for this (which I've forgotten!), is this the same as a bimax?

I asked my orthodontist if she thought this was completely necessary and she said most of my problems can be fixed by braces. But that I will only achieve a perfect bite with the second surgery.

[Soph26]

Hi all, thought I would post an update on my SARPE + Invisalign treatment.

My teeth have completely stopped moving now, the front two are very crossed over which is weird after having the gap. I feel like my top jaw is well on its way to being healed and I can eat pretty much normally with my back teeth. For a while I couldn't use my Sonicare toothbrush for my top teeth because the movement was way too much to handle, but it's OK now, a little bit tingly but OK.

I had my Invisalign scans on Tuesday and the ClinCheck is ready for me to view tomorrow morning! I actually had a first load of scans done about 5 weeks ago so my ortho could see the final result, but my teeth moved too much so I needed another one. The aligners will be ready for me to pick up in two weeks and I can't wait.

I read on this thread that Invisalign wasn't necessarily a good option for people who have had SARPE but it's working really well for me so far. The main thing I was surprised about is how fast my treatment time has been. My operation was exactly three months ago today, I will be in Invisalign in two weeks' time and I will have my bone-borne expander removed on 3 November. Does 3.5 months between surgery and braces on seem really fast?

[johnluxir]

I had surgery 21st May and Braces on the 11th September

[CharlieT]

Hi all,
New to this forum, and have a question that I'm not seeing the reply to at the moment; forgive me if it's already here somewhere!

I had SARPE on Sep 20, started expanding one week later, and have only a few more turns to go. Will be SO glad to have this phase done with ... I can't complain of much as far as pain goes (happy about that!), but this isn't exactly fun either, is it!? My braces went on a week before surgery (bottoms complete with archwire, top with brackets only). Q: Typically how long have others waited post-surgery before the top archwire goes in, and/or they do something to start actively closing the gap? Or is the gap expected to close completely on its own? Just wondering what others have experienced, because I've got a 10mm gap here, and am NOT loving the look!

[redwine]

I just got scheduled for SARPE for December 18th! I am both excited and nervous, but for now I'm mostly excited! Anyone else scheduled for December?

[Soph26]

Hi CharlieT, I think the gap closes on its own for a lot of people but if not the braces will take care of it pretty quickly. I got my first Invisalign trays 3.5 months after surgery and by then the gap had completely gone on its own. It's amazing how your teeth just sort of fill in. Hope this helps!

[Vantwins]

Wow, it's taken a couple weeks, but I made it through the 105 page thread!

I had my Sarpe surgery last week, on November 26th. The first week was rougher than I expected, but I'm finally getting back to normal now. I've got a decent sized gap and am turning 4 times a dy, at least till my ortho appt on monday. I despise the RPE and am hoping my ortho will let me switch to a TPA In a couple months!

Anyone else around?
Vanessa

[e77]

I am only halfway through reading all of the Sarpe posts, but I am scheduled for Sarpe surgery on Jan 15 - Expander goes in on Jan 11. I am so nervous and just want it all over with. My biggest concerns are talking with the expander and having the gap...

[Vantwins]

I've had my expander in for 3 1/2 weeks and had SARPE 2 1/2 weeks ago. My talking is still pretty unclear. I was supposed to start teaching step aerobics class in 2 weeks but I don't have the energy for it yet and I don't know if participants will understand me! I told my boss I'll need to delay a bit. I'm still low on energy and have dizzy spells. I tried just exercising a bit yesterday and felt like I was on a rocky boat! My gap was little for the week after surgery. I didn't mind it much and actually I don't think I left the house anyway! Then I expanded for a week and it got big enough that it looked like I lost a tooth. After a week I got to stop expanding and got my upper braces on with a "power arch" between my front teeth. They've started coming together a tiny bit. I'm just happy they are headed in the right direction. I guess my surgery did not go perfectly, because one side of my jaw is lower that the other. It's actually bothering me more to see my teeth so uneven than to see the gap. I've sometimes used a wad of wax to cover the gap, although I've actually started to get used to it and don't usually bother with the wax now.
Vanessa

[redwine]

My expander has been in for almost 48 hours, and I can't say it is enjoyable. I literally can't say it! But my speech is getting a bit better as long as I avoid certain sounds - the long E (as in speech) is the hardest for me. I've been singing in the car on the way to work and back home, and it has really seemed to help. For some reason, when I sing, the e sound is easier. And it's getting my tongue used to manuevering around the expander. Eating has been another huge challenge. So, SARPE on Tuesday and I begin expanding a week later. I will be expanding about 8mm which I guess is about average. I had my final surgical consult this morning, got a whole list of questions answered, and the surgeon showed me exactly what he will be doing. My poor husband went quite green.
As the time gets closer, I'm getting more and more nervous. Luckily, I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am and surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. I say luckily because I don't think I'll be able to sleep Monday night and would go nuts if I had to wait until Tue afternoon to get the party started. Wish me luck, and thank you to all who have posted here. (I even told my surgeon about the site because I have found it so helpful.)

[Vantwins]

Did you have the surgery yesterday? Hope it went well! I'm over 3 weeks past the surgery and doing well. Can't eat much still, but I'm thinking that may be the case till the RPE comes out at least! My gap is closing, mostly because a gap has now formed on the other side of the tooth that's shifting.
Vanessa

[Cfx90]

I went under the knife about 7:30 AM on the 18th...some pain pills and a lot of sleep later and here I am. My doctor did amazing, took out 4 wisdom impacted teeth and then released 5 points of bone on my upper jaw in about two hours. I need about 7+ mm expansion on my top jaw. The pain is certainly bearable, more of a dull pressure than sharp or throbbing pain. The only issue was a very high blood pressure when recovering from the surgery, but I was so sedated I barely remember it. Speaking of sedation I don't remember leaving the prep room, I was there, my mom was taken back upstairs, and then I woke up. Now the worst part, the recovery. I've gotten about 50% of the feeling back in my upper lip and bottom nose area which is very quick, and the only issues are some nose bleeds (have never had one before) and a bit of pain when I swallow. Talking is difficult but thats to be expected. He wants me to start turning the key on Christmas Day (lucky me!!) which is one week from surgery. I see him Friday and hope everything is looking good. To anyone having this surgery, while mine want extensive as some, don't sweat the surgery, just prepare for the recovery.

[redwine]

Surgery began at 7:30am on the 18th and I was in recovery around noon. There was unexpected bleeding so I had to stay overnight. Meds make me hyper, so no sleep, either. The worst part? No ice!!! I couldn't believe I wasn't packed in ice when I finally came 'round! I had some ice packs in the car so had DH retrieve them and did the best I could. Never got a room,so spent most of the night in the recovery area, next to Chatty Cathy who just wouldn't shut-up. At about 2am, I finally got moved to another holding area that was much quieter and had a TV to make the time go by quicker. At about 4am, I finally got some ambien and was able to take a nap until about 7. Whew, that made me feel much better. Finally got home a little before noon. I packed myself in ice, took my meds as prescribed and had a long, lovely nap. Woke up at 4, starving, had some soup, and made the mistake of looking in the mirror. From just below my eyes on down, I am horribly swollen and my skin varies in shades of deep of blue, purple and green! At the hospital I had asked the resident why no ice, and he said he had ordered it. DH is wonderful, but had a stroke and is not a great patient advocate. Next time, I will take someone with me who will make sure things happen the way they are supposed to! I thought I could take care of myself, but I guess the drugs made more stupid than I expected. Right now I am very angry at myself...

[katsface]

Surgery began at 7:30am on the 18th and I was in recovery around noon. There was unexpected bleeding so I had to stay overnight. Meds make me hyper, so no sleep, either. The worst part? No ice!!! I couldn't believe I wasn't packed in ice when I finally came 'round! I had some ice packs in the car so had DH retrieve them and did the best I could. Never got a room,so spent most of the night in the recovery area, next to Chatty Cathy who just wouldn't shut-up. At about 2am, I finally got moved to another holding area that was much quieter and had a TV to make the time go by quicker. At about 4am, I finally got some ambien and was able to take a nap until about 7. Whew, that made me feel much better. Finally got home a little before noon. I packed myself in ice, took my meds as prescribed and had a long, lovely nap. Woke up at 4, starving, had some soup, and made the mistake of looking in the mirror. From just below my eyes on down, I am horribly swollen and my skin varies in shades of deep of blue, purple and green! At the hospital I had asked the resident why no ice, and he said he had ordered it. DH is wonderful, but had a stroke and is not a great patient advocate. Next time, I will take someone with me who will make sure things happen the way they are supposed to! I thought I could take care of myself, but I guess the drugs made more stupid than I expected. Right now I am very angry at myself...

Don't beat yourself up. We all try to use good reasoning when making decisions. Sometimes in hindsight, we realize we should have taken other factors into consideration, but I'm sure you made the best decisions you could given what you were told about the surgery.

I hope you'll be over the worst swelling/bruising in a few days to a week.

And I want to say 'thank you' for sharing your experience here! It's making me consider asking my mom to come visit while I'm having my surgery, b/c she's a great patient advocate. My DH is wonderful. Very smart, very attentive, but I have no idea how he is in a hospital... we've just never had to go through something like this together. My mom's also very smart, and is the kind of person who will get her way come h#ll or high water... and I think that's the kind of person with me in the hospital.

Anyway, thank you for sharing, and I hope you heal quickly!