SARPE Relapse

[SandraJ93]

Hi. I had my SARPE surgery on the 14th of March, I was then expanding my RPE by doing one turn twice daily for 3 weeks, however then my RPE broke and when my ortho was taking moulds for a new one the jaw relapsed slightly and I then had to turn the expander for one more week. So roughly I stopped expanding the RPE on the 20th of April. After a month from that, my ortho decided to replace the RPE with TPA which in my opinion was a very stupid thing because the TPA is much less sturdy than RPE and the bones weren’t yet fused back together as it takes about 3 months for the bones to heal. It’s been 1 week now since I have the TPA and I can already see some relapse, do you think there is a possibility there will be even more relapse and the jaw will basically look like it did before the surgery? Should I go back to my ortho and ask him to put the RPE back in? I'm really really frustrated at this stage as I don't want to hear in the end that the surgery I had and all the pain I went through is now pointless.

Here’s a timeline of what I had done:
14/03 SARPE surgery
20/04 RPE activation stopped
22/05 RPE out – TPA in

[jem]

I would certainly recommend getting an early appointment with your ortho before you have any further relapse.I imagine refitting your RPE would resolve your relapse and perhaps you could keep it for a few months to help retain the expansion you have achieved. Alternatively, could your ortho offer you a hawley-type retainer for this purpose?

Good luck,

Jem

[Marriedonmaui]

Hi- that does seem early. I've had my rpe in for 7 months. 5 months past last turn. If you're concerned ask your orthodontist right away. It may not be too late to turn again. It's hard sometimes to ask questions, I get intimidated sometimes but you'll always wonder if you don't ask. I'm going to ask when the heck I'm getting mine out at my next apointment.