SARPE Surgery

[bbsadmin]

We have a new article about SARPE Surgery on ArchWired.com at: https://www.archwired.com/glossary/surg ... expansion/

[HarryGray]

Hi all,

I am having my SARPE surgery at the beginning of September. Thankfully didn't need braces on before the surgery! I have a few questions:

1) how long were you on a liquid diet for?
2) did you doctor give you a time frame of how long to wait before doing exercise? By exercise I mean weightlifting / tennis
3) How long after the SARPE surgery did you have to wait before you got your braces fitted?

Sorry if these have been answered before...

Thanks in advance!

[Carno]

Hi all,

I am having my SARPE surgery at the beginning of September. Thankfully didn't need braces on before the surgery! I have a few questions:

1) how long were you on a liquid diet for?
2) did you doctor give you a time frame of how long to wait before doing exercise? By exercise I mean weightlifting / tennis
3) How long after the SARPE surgery did you have to wait before you got your braces fitted?

Sorry if these have been answered before...

Thanks in advance!

1- I was only on a liquid diet for 3-4 days. After that it was on soft foods, and then firmer foods after about 7 days.
2- My surgeon told me two weeks before lifting weights again, but honestly I wasn't interested in working out sooner than that anyway. I lost 5-10 pounds over the course of a couple weeks, so I didn't really have the energy to work out.
3- I had my braces put on 2 days after my last activation of the appliance. The surgeon activated the appliance during the surgery, then no turns for the first 7 days. After that, two turns a day until a certain level of expansion was achieved. Then, braces. Then 90 days after the last turn of the appliance, I had it removed.

EDIT: I should say that the surgeon's paperwork listed a longer timeline for the diet. I believe it said liquids only for a week, then blended food for 2 weeks, then soft food for another 2 weeks. Your mileage may vary.

[HarryGray]

I had my palatal expander fitted yesterday and WOW! How did you guys ever get used to this thing!?

I am struggling to eat anything, my teeth are so tender at the moment especially on one side of my face Also I have cuts all over my gums and tongue which is expected I guess but I wasn't prepared for it.

How long do most people wear these for post surgery? And I assume you have braces fitted at the same time as the device is on? My surgery is in two weeks and I am hoping to have the device off by April, is this likely?

[HarryGray]

Hi guys,

I have a question. I have been a mouth breather for 25+ years due to my overbite. I am having SARPE surgery and then bi-maxillary surgery next year.

I am wondering, do these surgeries improve nasal breathing? Or is it worth seeing a specialist during my orthodontic treatment to take a look at my nose and see why it is I am a mouth breather?

I am panicking a little bit because most relapses come from mouth breathing apparently.

Thanks

[Carno]

I guess my case was different than yours, because I had the appliance put in right before my surgery (3 days prior). It seems odd that you have the appliance in now when you're not having surgery until next year. I only had the appliance in for about 3 and a half months total. It is like a medieval torture device though, I never got used to it and I never spoke clearly the entire time I had it in. The day they pulled it out was AMAZING. That being said, I am INCREDIBLY glad that I went through the process. The result is well worth the irritation.

I found it MUCH easier to breathe through my nose right after the SARPE surgery, but I had a deviated septum and it had been pretty difficult for me to breathe through my nose for decades. I hadn't heard that breathing through your mouth leads to relapse, but breathing through your nose is much better for you for a host of reasons. I mostly breathe through my nose these days (5 months post-SARPE), but I find that I go back to breathing through my mouth in my sleep. Not sure how to prevent that.

[HarryGray]

Thanks for the reply Carno. I am having my SARPE in two weeks actually (have to have the RME put in 2 weeks prior because of self-isolation pre surgery). Bimaxillary surgery is going to be next year I am slightly getting used to the device now but yep - still can't talk properly. Did you have a 'TPE' put in at all? Hopefully that will help with my speech.

Glad to hear yours was a success and that nose breathing became easier for you!

[Carno]

Ah, that makes sense. I did not have anything else put in (thankfully). I'm not sure what a TPE is though.

I definitely got better at speaking with the appliance in my mouth, but it was never perfectly comfortable. The amount of spit it made my mouth produce was incredibly annoying for the first few weeks, but then either I got used to the amount of spit, or it stopped being as much.

I just posted some progress pics in this link if you want to see my before and now photos:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=54507

[HarryGray]

hi guys,

My SARPE surgery is tomorrow and I'm super nervous. Does anyone have any tips on what to bring to the hospital? I have an overnight stay as my op is late afternoon

Thanks

[Carno]

Good luck! It'll be over before you know it!!

Unfortunately I don't have any hospital tips because mine was early morning so I spent minimal time there...

[HarryGray]

Thanks Caro, had the op and I must say I'm surprised how "easy" the recovery is so far. I used speech marks because I'm only on day 2 and as I had an overnight stay in the hospital I was on all kinds of drugs and steroids. But so far so good. It makes me think that I could do the DJS next year as I know that's no joke, but this is fine!

For anyone looking to do SARPE if possible I'd get an overnight stay as I think the steroids really do help and the painkillers/antibiotics they drip you on.

[Carno]

I'm glad to hear it went well! Honestly the recovery was much easier than I was expecting, and I hope you'll continue to find that to be the case also!

One thing I just remembered was that Q-tips were a lifesaver when it came to cleaning out my nostrils. Since you aren't able to blow your nose, you might find that Q-tips are good at clearing out some of the blood clots/bloody snot, especially in the morning. I wouldn't go deep into your nose, but it really helped just clearing out the nostril area.

[Jaydee83]

Hi I had this done, the numbness is to be expected and will be that way for up to 6 months or more mine took around 9 months. It was a tough first week with expansion but you get used to it just get some pain relief in the system before you turn the key. I'm still in braces 2 years down the line but I'm a 100% pain free from having headache, migraine, clicking crunching jaw, lock jaw and tinnitus so I'm very grateful for my surgeon and orthodontist. I wish you all the best.

[Ercmicwil]

For any of you who’ve had SARPE, did the surgeon make a break at the Pterygoid junction? If so, was your procedure done in a hospital or outpatient clinic? Thank you!

[Ercmicwil]

Cnicholas wrote:
> Well an update from me.
> Not to scare anyone else considering sarpe, but for me what had been
> thought to be venous bleeding jnfact ended up being a pseudo aneurysm of
> the internal maxillary artery which had been injured at the time of
> surgery. Very rare.
> I had it coiled angiographically a week after my sarpe.
> I then had a pretty slow recovery. One month off work and am going to
> struggle to return to work tomorrow.
> I also had a post operative infection.
> Anyone else had anything like this?


How are you doing now? Sounds pretty traumatic what you went through. I’m so sorry about that!