SARPE Surgery

[Sadoozie]

So I wont be getting out of the RPE anytime soon, turns out that its going to stay put at least another month which will bring the time ive had it on up to about 5 months. Honestly i dont even notice it anymore, only if im eating steak and some bits gets stuck up there, otherwise its fine. Amazing how quickly the brain adapts.

Hope everyone is going great out there!

[BrooklynsOwn]

What specifically about your facial features did you notice changes in? I have a narrow palate and a CHRONIC stuffy nose so Im looking to get it done.

[quote="Sirgey"]Hello,
I had this surgery on June 3rd, I turned for 17 days and ended up with about an 11mm space between my front teeth. After the initial discomfort right after the surgery I thought that the surgery was much easier than I could have ever expected from hearing about it before hand. I think the most difficult thing about the surgery for me, is dealing with this huge gap between my front teeth, and the difference in my facial features after the stretching was completed.

As for you questions about tingling and such, mine mostly went away within the first week, amazingly I hardly swelled or bruised at all so that may have helped. I hope you both are doing well, and will be glad to share with you anything you may question.[/quote]

[herecticx]

can anyone please update me on what changes happened to your face?

i heard the area between your eyes could possibly enlargen.

does your upper lip area flare/puff out?

[goku]

Sadoozie did your docs say why they wanted to keep the RPE in longer?
Mine are planning to remove it next week and I wonder if it will be fine.

hereticx, I didn't really notice much changes in my face. I think my nostrils might be a little wider. Whatever changes do happen no one will even notice because they are that subtle.

[lalcharlie]

Well guys I wish I still had my expander in. Remember how the ortho took mine out early because he said it was a bad fit, replacing it with a heavy TPA? Well the TPA has these metals arms that go behind the front teeth. There was a gap between the arms of about 2 mm, I could see it between the front teeth. The gap disappeared and my ortho said all was fine but bent the arms in towards my front teeth so they wouldn't touch. Guess what, a month later and this metal bars overlap behind my front teeth. My right eye teeth used to touch but now my top is about 3mm inside the bottom again. I'm so disappointed. Yes I still have my 10mm expansion at the back but I must've lost about 5 or 6mm at the front. My next appoint is on 6th August with the regular ortho (never seen sarpe before) and I won't see the consultant until Sept. What can I do? Maybe when they give me double jaw they can open it up again? My palate is still v - shaped, yes wider than it was but only marginally.

[Psa]

Hey

Hope everyone is well.

@Sadoozie. Luckily it didn't close up too much. My ortho said everything looked perfectly fine. This TPA is absolutely AMAZING compared to the RPE. I barely even notice it and it is much easier on my tongue. Eating isn't an issue at all anymore, I can eat almost anything now. Somtimes a little bit gets stuck in the TPA but compared to the RPE this is nothing so I'm all good and happy . Also my gap has almost closed up completely so I reckon it will go fast once I get my upper braces which should be sometime in September or so.

I know I shouldn't be saying this but I would recommend breaking the hyrax expander to get a TPA instead once you finish turning (Ok probably not but I loved the change).

[gaborousseau]

Hi everyone!
I'm a bit late on finding this great forum, I'm really enjoying reading everyone's experience!
I had SARPE surgery on July 9th after having braces on my bottom teeth for a month. Operation went great, they did 10 turns during surgery and only had to do 5 more every other day The swelling is pretty much gone, I still can't feel the right side of my face as well as my gums, but I've been told it's normal. The 30+ degrees heat and crazy humidity we've been having here feels like it's making my face swell up again, anyone else having issues with heat/humidity?

So anyways I'll stop my ramblings, just wanted to say hi to everyone /wave

[Sadoozie]

Well done gaborousseau! Hope everyone is had a great summer and enjoyed some sunshine.

@Goku, the ortho just said that it takes a long time for the bones to really heal and its best to keep it in. Initially i was told that the RPE will stay in for 4-6 months and i remember reading how people got it off after just 3 months (so jealous). But i've gotten used to the RPE now and dont want to rock the boat for no reason.

@LalCharlie, hope you got some info on your visit on the 6th? I have never really heard of SARPE and double jaw being done at the same time, so i dont think thats an option. But if its wide enough, then they might be able to correct the remainder with braces..youll be fine

@I kinda wished my RPE brok months ago, now its too late.. I asked about ceramic upper braces at my last appointment (like i do at every appointment) and got another denial. I keep getting the answer that surgeons hate it because the brackets break off. Have you gotten upper braces yet?

My next appointment at the orthos is next week.

[Karlie352]

Hello,

I had my SARPE surgery on the 8th of October, so almost 3 weeks ago. My oral surgeon expanded some while I was out cold (awesome) so I woke up with about a 1-2mm gap already.

I was pretty numb and swollen majority went down after 1.5 weeks, I had minimal swelling, and minimal bleeding actually after I woke up all that bled was where the stitches were but after about a week I woke to find large yellow-green bruises on my cheek, so attractive
I went to my orthodontist 5 days after surgery where they atempted to show my mother how to turn the ley - long story short she was way too freaked out to turn it, so I've been doing it myself. That first tuesday I was informed to turn once per week, then the following tuesday it was amped up to two turns per day (who am I to care? It'll be over sooner that way). My ortho said it'll probably be the last week I turn and I'm going back on Wednesday (28th). Im currently at about 6 -6.5mm, I know! Sounds super cool right? I do have a few questions though if anyone can answer me.
1) Anyone have a large amount of bloody mucus? I still do even after a few weeks? Normal? (sorry to be gross)
2) Anyone still have swelling under their upper lip a few weeks after surgery?
3) I've started eating soft foods (yes the kind that actually has to be chewed) after about a week, anoyone else?
4) ALSO, my teeth have been crazy senstive, like it feels like they're shifting like mad, however I haven't seen any noticeable signs, has anyone else had this feeling while still expanding?

Thanks a bunch!

[mouth]

I had SARPE surgery 10/26/2015. I did not have very much bloody mucus but the anesthesiologist put the breathing tube in my mouth. Usually the tube is put in your nose. I am also eating soft food since 1 week post op.

My main problem is I am having difficulty turning the key myself. Any suggestions?

I am also sore where the rapid expander is pushing on my gum. I needed to have 2 screws placed in roof of my mouth since I was missing 2 premolars. Therefore I have a plastic piece,not your usual expander. I see oral surgeon in a couple days and ortho doc next week. I will address this then.

Also curious as to what is the largest gap reported. My needs to be 9 mm and saw on Internet someone had 11 mm.

[Stellla]

[quote="mouth"]
Also curious as to what is the largest gap reported. My needs to be 9 mm and saw on Internet someone had 11 mm.[/quote]

I'll get back to you about that, my total expansion is supposed to be 13mm so my gap is probably gonna be freaking huge!

[Stellla]

Oh wow I really failed that quote, sorry !

[mkstorm0710]

I had my SARPE surgery done on 4/23/15, and had to do 26 turns, so 6.5mm. I've had my braces since 7/8/15, and we started closing the rest of my gap with my most recent ortho appointment. Sounds like I have only one more wire after this one for my braces before I'm on the finishing wire, and then will have double jaw surgery in the summer. Also hopeful to get my expander out soon, but I had an X-Ray done in July and you could still see that the palate wasn't yet healed. SARPE was honestly a lot easier than I thought it would be, with the only issue really being the considerable amount of swelling I had. Overall, I'm very happy with the results so far!

[Psa]

Hi everyone

Been ages since I've been here. I hope everyone is doing well.

I finally had the TPA taken out today, it was starting to gnaw on my palate so lucky me!

A question for everyone. How long did it take for you to get the feeling back in your upper teeth and rest of the face? it's been 7 months since my sarpe and there's still spots besides my nose where the feeling isn't all back yet and in my teeth as well. My ortho says it's normal and can take up to a year - he's probably right of course, I'm just curious about your experience.

@Sadoozie. Den hvide bøjle er ikke helt hvad jeg håbede på De hvide elastikker bliver misfarvet (gullige) efter halvanden uges tid hvilket ikke er så fedt. Men på afstand kan man stort set ikke se, at der er bøjle i overmunden. Hvordan går det med det hele?

Merry Christmas people

[Sadoozie]

Hope everyone is doing well.

I am going to get molds done next month to see how far along my palate is fusing back together, so that they can start to consider when to schedule the next double jaw surgery.

@PSA Jeg bliver helt jaloux over de har givet dig hvid brackets!! lol. Men jeg har vænnet mig til alt det metal i ganen, så det går nok. Jeg har stadig TPA i overmunden og skal have den siddende indtil næste operation. Har du fået en ca. dato eller noget info om næste operation??


Merry Christmas!