Has Anyone had Plate Removal?

[aubreyskingdom]

Had pre-op today and surgeon pretty much told me not to have the plates removed so we cancelled surgery. She said none of my symptoms will be relieved from having them removed, and I'll just have to deal with them for the rest of my life sadly. Super disappointed and frustrated but I guess that's a consequence of getting jaw surgery.

[arbat]

Sarah, I am no expert but it would seem to me logical that they would need to remove your plates before (a second?) surgical procedure and that they would do this at the same time rather than put you through another procedure.....

[Kcarts02]

Has anybody had upper plates removed??? 19 years after surgery and after a month of agonising pain I'm on my surgeons emergency list to get my upper plates taken out and I have no idea what to expect.

[ClarissaDKent]

I had my plates removed 11 weeks after my BSSO because I wasn't healing well with them in and had developed infection(possible allergy) on both sides. It wasn't as intense as the original jaw surgery but I was still a bit swollen, it was painful for about a week but I have since totally healed and even swelling that I didn't know I had has gone down. I do believe that I would wake up with a puffy face because I am allergic to the metal, I went into surgery with a known nickel allergy and had a real issue with surgical hooks.

[MagnoliaMama]

I'm getting one of my mandibular plates removed this Friday because of infection. I'll be eight weeks (to the minute!) post-op from BSSO and a two piece LeFort I when it comes out. I'll follow up on this thread after the procedure in case anyone else wants to know what to expect with getting a plate out so early into recovery.

I'm scared that the bones won't have fused well enough and that I'll have to go in for a revision to help the bones heal properly, but my doctors seem optimistic.

[MagnoliaMama]

The plate and screws on my lower right were taken out in office today. They used IV sedation to knock me out, but without the usual fentanyl in an attempt to help me not spend the rest of the day puking. No puking, no nausea whatsoever, but the longer acting pain relief that usually comes from IV sedation wasn't present either. It's a trade off that I'm okay with.

I'm decently swollen, but without any visible bruises so far. The incision feels much longer than the original one in that place and the sutures are big and spiky. My range of motion is very reduced, but I'm not much in the mood to eat so it's not bothering me much. I took a long nap after taking two percocet about two hours after I returned home.

The doctors said that my plate was infected and they've sent it to be cultured. I was told that I had had two pieces of bone that needed to be removed and that it was done to no ill effect. I go in for a follow up in two weeks. I'll update one more time once I feel I've passed the peak swelling/pain. As of now I'd give this a 4/10 for pain compared to the 10/10 that the original surgery was for me. This feels sore, primarily. The original surgery was definitely more painful than sore.

Hoping that by Sunday I'll be able to enjoy a meal with my family for mother's day, so far it's seeming likely!

[snapdresser]

Happy healing, MagnoliaMama! After what you went through before, I'm sure this will be a breeze for you I'm sure right now you're still feeling the stitches and stuff, but when it goes down and your stitches are out/dissolved I'd be interested to know how different it feels in that area. Glad you came through just fine

[MagnoliaMama]

Well, it's been a week since my plate and screws were taken out of my mandible on the right side. The swelling finally seems to have resolved and I'm symmetrical again. This incision was much longer than the original was, but it seems to have mostly healed already. The sutures are still there, still icky, but they've softened enough to not be noticed unless my tongue is over there trying to clear out food from the vestibule while eating. I finished my oral antibiotics (Augmentin) on Wednesday and I haven't noticed any sign of further infection, but it's still early SPAM SPAM SPAMMING. I'm feeling pretty decent with one exception... I don't know if I've just not noticed this before, but my sense of taste is significantly impaired. Hoping that comes back, and soon!

All in all, plate removal from the mandible certainly wasn't fun, but it wasn't too awful. It was especially not awful compared to jaw surgery. Being puffed and ouchy for a week isn't too hard after being that way for much longer, right?

[Melsy0107]

I'm facing this same issue. I had BSSO on April 13th wound up with an infection and had it drained on May 5th. I will find out if they are going to remove the plate on my right side on May 31st.

[Branwillaws]

Maybe I'm wrong but from what I understand after 7 years you could go get an xray and no one would ever know you had jaw surgery so the bone would just grow over the plates? I'm only 10 days post op from lefort 1 and bsso. My surgeon has said there is no need to remove plates but I have a "throbbing, pulse like pain on the right side of my face more on the lower side of my face. I'm assuming it's normal and probably too soon to tell if it's plate related? It's not super painful about 4 out of 10 but it's annoying. Hoping it's normal and it's just my face regaining it's feeling

[snapdresser]

As long as the plates are in there you'll always be able to tell using xray. Have you seen your post-op xrays yet? The retained hardware is metal and shows up different than anything else in the xray, including bone. Regarding your localized pain, strange feelings including inexplicable pain/numbness/etc in certain areas is normal and usually resolves on its own in a few weeks. That said, it can also be a sign of infection so if you're worried, there's no harm in bringing it up with your surgeon.

[Branwillaws]

Ah okay. Well I see my surgeon tomorrow I think I'm doing pretty well besides the crazy nose bleeds I started having.

[Tilly]

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.

[jawregret1]

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.

Did you see the oral surgeon yet?

[Arvensis]

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).