So, it's been a week now. Feels a little longer than that, but 7 days is 7 days.
The swelling in my face has drastically come down, but I'm left with some nice yellow bruising on my right cheek and under my right eye. I'm not sure if this was caused by the removal of the wisdom teeth or the SARPE itself. My gums are still swollen beyond belief. It looks like a series of bubbles or something up there. By the end of next week, I'm hoping this is mostly gone. Over the next few months, I'll slowly regain feeling in my jaw as my nerves were all severed during the procedure. They regenerate, but it takes some time.
I am slightly worried about a pain I've been experiencing at the back of my throat. It feels like I drank something way too hot, and it burned off a little skin in my throat. I really doubt this happened, but I have the feeling nonetheless. Of course, I'm worried about the "I" word (infection). If it persists/gets worse over the next couple of days, I'll be getting it checked out.
Not much else to report on. Activation #2 happened tonight. Went fine. No real changes in how my jaw feels. My orthodontist actually told me she was surprised that the gap was not as big as she would have thought coming out of surgery. Perhaps my teeth are eager to shift and fill in the gap given how crowded they are! I'm still positive I'll be sporting a huge gap eventually. There's no way any tooth shifting can keep up with my daily expansions.
Good night!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Kudos to the hospital staff
By the way, I wanted to mention how amazing the staff was at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto. I had a bad experience with my overnight nurse, but aside from this, the nursing staff - on my floor, in the operating room, and in the recovery room - were are GREAT.
My anethetist, although I forget his name right now, was terrific. In my past two operations, I did not react well with the anesthetic. But for this operation, I came out very cleanly. I was not groggy, and felt little pain. He also tried to lighten my mood prior to the surgery. Admittedly, I was quite nervous, and he did a very good job at reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, and that he'd be watching me closely. I wish I remembered his name........
Finally, the surgeons themselves. Dr. Howard Holmes is the Director of Surgical Orthodontics at the University of Toronto. With him were two residents: A senior resident named Dr. Craig Humber, and a junior resident named Dr. Joel Abikhzer. I can't say enough about these guys. I'm not sure what else I can say about them except that I'm sure Joel and Craig are going to be terrific surgeons under Dr. Holmes' guidance.
My profound thanks to everyone involved, and I'll be seeing them all again soon enough (September 2010 maybe?) when the second surgery is done!
My anethetist, although I forget his name right now, was terrific. In my past two operations, I did not react well with the anesthetic. But for this operation, I came out very cleanly. I was not groggy, and felt little pain. He also tried to lighten my mood prior to the surgery. Admittedly, I was quite nervous, and he did a very good job at reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, and that he'd be watching me closely. I wish I remembered his name........
Finally, the surgeons themselves. Dr. Howard Holmes is the Director of Surgical Orthodontics at the University of Toronto. With him were two residents: A senior resident named Dr. Craig Humber, and a junior resident named Dr. Joel Abikhzer. I can't say enough about these guys. I'm not sure what else I can say about them except that I'm sure Joel and Craig are going to be terrific surgeons under Dr. Holmes' guidance.
My profound thanks to everyone involved, and I'll be seeing them all again soon enough (September 2010 maybe?) when the second surgery is done!
1 Activation done, 50 to go
Well, today marked my first activation of the expander. I am to do one activation per day for the next two weeks until I see my orthodontist again. We may go to 2 activations per day if everything goes well. My upper jaw is still a little "loose", but it's good enough to get started on the activations. My fiance was showed how to activate it from the orthodontist. I have no idea how I would do this on my own. The size of the hole for the key is about the same diameter as a pin head. Luckily, I had no real feeling once the activation was done. There was some tightness in my nose experienced about 15 minutes after, but nothing since.
Again, each activation (which is a half-turn of the screw) is 0.25mm. My jaw has to go at least 12mm in total. There is already a space between my teeth due to the activations done during the surgery, but it's just going to get bigger and bigger now. I can't believe this is actually happening!
The swelling has receded, although my upper gum is still quite swollen. I've also discovered that my upper jaw is completely numb. I thought it was swollen which is why it's feeling how it's feeling, but when my fiance cleaned something off of my tooth with her finger, I could not tell when she was touching it. After a little experimentation, I came to the conclusion that I have no feeling in my upper jaw at all. I'm seeing the surgeon again next Thursday, so I'll ask him if these numb feelings are normal. I remember hearing numbness as a side effect, but I was thinking that the numbness would be more in my face and not so much in my jaw. Will let you know.
So I think I'm going to take a picture every few activations. It will be interesting once we get towards 25-30 activations since I'll need a new expander. I think I mentioned this before, but because my jaw is so narrow, the longest screw that could fit in the expander is 10mm. My jaw has to go 12mm, and so I'll need a second expander with a longer screw. This means that they'll have to take my first expander out, do all the molds over, put the expander back in and continue activating while the second one is being made, then get the second one put in once it is available. Ugh.
Oh - most important part - the nose-bleeding has stopped!!! The bleeding was being caused by my sinuses filling up with blood, which is why the colour was a darker red.
Eating is still non-existent. I had two forks of mashed potatoes and a lick of soft-serve ice cream today. This was the most food I've had in a week! I had soup yesterday, and this will probably be my diet for another week. I'm drinking Boost in the morning, which looks and smells more disgusting than it is. I really like milk a lot, so it's been pretty easy to put down.
Tomorrow will mark 7 days since the surgery. My antibiotic treatment will be over, and I still have a bunch of 600mg Advils to help with the pain!! It's been a long week, but there are many more ahead of me!
Until next time, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
Again, each activation (which is a half-turn of the screw) is 0.25mm. My jaw has to go at least 12mm in total. There is already a space between my teeth due to the activations done during the surgery, but it's just going to get bigger and bigger now. I can't believe this is actually happening!
The swelling has receded, although my upper gum is still quite swollen. I've also discovered that my upper jaw is completely numb. I thought it was swollen which is why it's feeling how it's feeling, but when my fiance cleaned something off of my tooth with her finger, I could not tell when she was touching it. After a little experimentation, I came to the conclusion that I have no feeling in my upper jaw at all. I'm seeing the surgeon again next Thursday, so I'll ask him if these numb feelings are normal. I remember hearing numbness as a side effect, but I was thinking that the numbness would be more in my face and not so much in my jaw. Will let you know.
So I think I'm going to take a picture every few activations. It will be interesting once we get towards 25-30 activations since I'll need a new expander. I think I mentioned this before, but because my jaw is so narrow, the longest screw that could fit in the expander is 10mm. My jaw has to go 12mm, and so I'll need a second expander with a longer screw. This means that they'll have to take my first expander out, do all the molds over, put the expander back in and continue activating while the second one is being made, then get the second one put in once it is available. Ugh.
Oh - most important part - the nose-bleeding has stopped!!! The bleeding was being caused by my sinuses filling up with blood, which is why the colour was a darker red.
Eating is still non-existent. I had two forks of mashed potatoes and a lick of soft-serve ice cream today. This was the most food I've had in a week! I had soup yesterday, and this will probably be my diet for another week. I'm drinking Boost in the morning, which looks and smells more disgusting than it is. I really like milk a lot, so it's been pretty easy to put down.
Tomorrow will mark 7 days since the surgery. My antibiotic treatment will be over, and I still have a bunch of 600mg Advils to help with the pain!! It's been a long week, but there are many more ahead of me!
Until next time, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
3 days post SARPE
Will the swelling ever recede? I'm puffier today than yesterday, and the bruising looks like it has begun. One cheek has turned completely yellow, and my lips are turning purple.
I also think that the lack of food has taken a toll. I've beenn tired all day long, unable to sit down for a half hour without feeling sleepy. I had a good sleep last night, as well as various naps today, but just feel completely void of energy. I'm doing what I can to keep myself from starving - my diet basically consists of Boost, water, and juice. I'm hoping I'll be able to work some soup in tomorrow or Tuesday. My fiance made this lentil soup that smelled delicious. Completely and utterly delicious!
I think I'm going to try to get some sleep. In the morning, we'll see if any improvment's occurred. In any event, I'm seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks!
I also think that the lack of food has taken a toll. I've beenn tired all day long, unable to sit down for a half hour without feeling sleepy. I had a good sleep last night, as well as various naps today, but just feel completely void of energy. I'm doing what I can to keep myself from starving - my diet basically consists of Boost, water, and juice. I'm hoping I'll be able to work some soup in tomorrow or Tuesday. My fiance made this lentil soup that smelled delicious. Completely and utterly delicious!
I think I'm going to try to get some sleep. In the morning, we'll see if any improvment's occurred. In any event, I'm seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
2.5 days post SARPE
Ugh - I didn't think the swelling could get much worse!! My face has steadily got fatter and fatter all day! The nose is still trickling blood, although I believe it's slowing down.
Going to try to get some sleep (had a very successful 3 hour nap earlier this afternoon!) soon. Just thought I'd share these complaints before the percocet kicks in!
Going to try to get some sleep (had a very successful 3 hour nap earlier this afternoon!) soon. Just thought I'd share these complaints before the percocet kicks in!
Two days post SARPE
Hi everyone,
So last Thursday, April 16th, I received a call from the Dentistry unit at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto letting me know that my SARPE surgery had been booked for April 23rd. I have to say - my heart kind of sank at first. I had been waiting for this call for over 2 months (my expander has been in my mouth since mid-February), so it's not like I wasn't expecting it, but when that call finally came, things hit home: "Wow, I'm really going through with this!"
Needless to say, I had an amazing week of eating. Had all my fave foods in that week leading up to the 23rd.
I met with the surgeons on the 21st who brought me through exactly what they would be doing. It was kind of freaky. For all those out there who have had SARPE, you know what it's all about, but for those who don't, here's a quick overview:
Incision along the upper gum line. Two bone incisions made at either end of the upper jaw in orde for it to be separated from its base. After peeling back the nost to get at the upper jaw, a hammer and chisel is used to break the palatal suture. The expander is then activated to ensure the suture remains open.
On top of this, I was told that my wisdom teeth (all 4) would be removed if time in the OR permitted. I figured that it would be great if they could do it then, so that I wouldn't have to worry about another general anesthetic down the line.
So, my Dad came down to Toronto the night before the surgery. My parents are very supportive of this decision, but I have the feeling they wonder why I'm putting myself through this. This is not the first surgery I've had, or second, or third. In all, I've had 8 surgeries prior to this (3 on legs, 2 on arm, 2 hernia, 1 tonsils....so no organs or anything serious like that, but enough to make me the "family history" on operations!), and historically I do not react well to the anesthetic. When my arm operations were done - this was my most recent surgery back in 1999/2000 - I found myself sick to my stomach from the antibiotics, and all-of-a-sudden allergic to things that I had not been allergic to since being 5 years old. Very weird, and not a good experience.
However, I had complete confidence in my surgical team. Being in Toronto, they do several SARPE cases every week, and so this is not a rare procedure for them. Given my history, and the unknowns about the wisdom teeth and all, the part of the process I was looking forward to the least was waking up after the operation. How much pain would I be in?
I said bye to my Dad at the OR, and walked in. It's always a kind of freaky experience in an OR. You see them all the time on TV and stuff, but when YOU'RE the patient, knowing that everyone you see in the room is there to work on you, it is scary. I lied down on the table at 1:43pm and was shivering, not because I was cold, but because I was anxious. The nurses in OR10 were great in trying to keep me calm and my anesthetist gave me a shot of something that relaxed me completely. A mask was then applied to my face, and that's all I remember.
The next thing I know, I woke up in recovery and surprisingly, I don't think I was very groggy at all. I was alert. I did have some immediate pain in my jaw, but the first question I asked the nurse was if my wisdom teeth were removed. She said they were.
My Dad and my fiance Lauren then came into recovery to quickly say hello. I think they were both surprised by how "good" I looked. I guess someone didn't tell them that the swelling had not yet started!!
An hour later, I was wheeled up to my room. SARPE is generally considered to be an outpatient procedure, but since I was the "afternoon" case of the day, and the room was available, the doctors decided to keep me overnight. They started me on antibiotics, and Percocet for the pain. My mouth was very dry, and as my face swelled up, it got harder and harder to drink. Eventually, a syringe was required to squirt water into my mouth and down my throat. 2 days later, I am still using this syringe.
That night in the hospital was a little rough. I didn't get much sleep at all - 2 hours I think - my nose kept bleeding and bleeding (which is apparently normal as long as it's not GUSHING....I would say my nose bleeding was more of a constant trickle), and my cheeks were swollen to the point where Lauren accurately described me as a chipmunk. And my nurse was either really busy, or not very good, because when I woke up from my 2 hour "nap", my gown was covered in blood from my nose. I rang for the nurse over and over and over and over again (probably a dozen times total....each ring about 30 seconds after the last). Then when I FINALLY got a response, it wasn't even my nurse. Oh well.
I came home yesterday around noon or so. I've been drinking nothing but water and juice. But managed to put down a Strawberry Boost last night. Lauren and her family, who came down to see me, had a lovely chicken dinner with salad and bread. Lol. This is going to be tough!!
I am actually writing this after getting a whole 5 hours of sleep. Not bad! My nose is still bleeding, but I think it's starting to slow down. I am now noticing the full effect of having my upper jaw separated.....it looks and feels like I have a denture up there. My upper jaw can freely move up/down, side to side, it's kind of gross. My lips are pretty swollen, so I can't close my mouth the entire way yet. Maybe today.
My Mom, Dad and sister are all coming down today to see me. I think my Mom may be a little freaked out. My Dad knows what I look like, and my sister, who's 15, will probably think it's cool. The next people to see my before/after shots are YOU! I have some before shots taken that I will try to post tomorrow along with the after shots.
I am seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. This is probably going to be the day that the activations begin. As far as I know, I'll be looking at 2 activations/day for about a 40 days (it has to go about half an inch as mentioned last post). I'll let you know how this goes.
Take care everyone. Have a great weekend!
So last Thursday, April 16th, I received a call from the Dentistry unit at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto letting me know that my SARPE surgery had been booked for April 23rd. I have to say - my heart kind of sank at first. I had been waiting for this call for over 2 months (my expander has been in my mouth since mid-February), so it's not like I wasn't expecting it, but when that call finally came, things hit home: "Wow, I'm really going through with this!"
Needless to say, I had an amazing week of eating. Had all my fave foods in that week leading up to the 23rd.
I met with the surgeons on the 21st who brought me through exactly what they would be doing. It was kind of freaky. For all those out there who have had SARPE, you know what it's all about, but for those who don't, here's a quick overview:
Incision along the upper gum line. Two bone incisions made at either end of the upper jaw in orde for it to be separated from its base. After peeling back the nost to get at the upper jaw, a hammer and chisel is used to break the palatal suture. The expander is then activated to ensure the suture remains open.
On top of this, I was told that my wisdom teeth (all 4) would be removed if time in the OR permitted. I figured that it would be great if they could do it then, so that I wouldn't have to worry about another general anesthetic down the line.
So, my Dad came down to Toronto the night before the surgery. My parents are very supportive of this decision, but I have the feeling they wonder why I'm putting myself through this. This is not the first surgery I've had, or second, or third. In all, I've had 8 surgeries prior to this (3 on legs, 2 on arm, 2 hernia, 1 tonsils....so no organs or anything serious like that, but enough to make me the "family history" on operations!), and historically I do not react well to the anesthetic. When my arm operations were done - this was my most recent surgery back in 1999/2000 - I found myself sick to my stomach from the antibiotics, and all-of-a-sudden allergic to things that I had not been allergic to since being 5 years old. Very weird, and not a good experience.
However, I had complete confidence in my surgical team. Being in Toronto, they do several SARPE cases every week, and so this is not a rare procedure for them. Given my history, and the unknowns about the wisdom teeth and all, the part of the process I was looking forward to the least was waking up after the operation. How much pain would I be in?
I said bye to my Dad at the OR, and walked in. It's always a kind of freaky experience in an OR. You see them all the time on TV and stuff, but when YOU'RE the patient, knowing that everyone you see in the room is there to work on you, it is scary. I lied down on the table at 1:43pm and was shivering, not because I was cold, but because I was anxious. The nurses in OR10 were great in trying to keep me calm and my anesthetist gave me a shot of something that relaxed me completely. A mask was then applied to my face, and that's all I remember.
The next thing I know, I woke up in recovery and surprisingly, I don't think I was very groggy at all. I was alert. I did have some immediate pain in my jaw, but the first question I asked the nurse was if my wisdom teeth were removed. She said they were.
My Dad and my fiance Lauren then came into recovery to quickly say hello. I think they were both surprised by how "good" I looked. I guess someone didn't tell them that the swelling had not yet started!!
An hour later, I was wheeled up to my room. SARPE is generally considered to be an outpatient procedure, but since I was the "afternoon" case of the day, and the room was available, the doctors decided to keep me overnight. They started me on antibiotics, and Percocet for the pain. My mouth was very dry, and as my face swelled up, it got harder and harder to drink. Eventually, a syringe was required to squirt water into my mouth and down my throat. 2 days later, I am still using this syringe.
That night in the hospital was a little rough. I didn't get much sleep at all - 2 hours I think - my nose kept bleeding and bleeding (which is apparently normal as long as it's not GUSHING....I would say my nose bleeding was more of a constant trickle), and my cheeks were swollen to the point where Lauren accurately described me as a chipmunk. And my nurse was either really busy, or not very good, because when I woke up from my 2 hour "nap", my gown was covered in blood from my nose. I rang for the nurse over and over and over and over again (probably a dozen times total....each ring about 30 seconds after the last). Then when I FINALLY got a response, it wasn't even my nurse. Oh well.
I came home yesterday around noon or so. I've been drinking nothing but water and juice. But managed to put down a Strawberry Boost last night. Lauren and her family, who came down to see me, had a lovely chicken dinner with salad and bread. Lol. This is going to be tough!!
I am actually writing this after getting a whole 5 hours of sleep. Not bad! My nose is still bleeding, but I think it's starting to slow down. I am now noticing the full effect of having my upper jaw separated.....it looks and feels like I have a denture up there. My upper jaw can freely move up/down, side to side, it's kind of gross. My lips are pretty swollen, so I can't close my mouth the entire way yet. Maybe today.
My Mom, Dad and sister are all coming down today to see me. I think my Mom may be a little freaked out. My Dad knows what I look like, and my sister, who's 15, will probably think it's cool. The next people to see my before/after shots are YOU! I have some before shots taken that I will try to post tomorrow along with the after shots.
I am seeing the surgeon on Tuesday afternoon. This is probably going to be the day that the activations begin. As far as I know, I'll be looking at 2 activations/day for about a 40 days (it has to go about half an inch as mentioned last post). I'll let you know how this goes.
Take care everyone. Have a great weekend!
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