Nationwide survey of surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion.

We aimed to gather data on the current practice of surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) in the UK. Surveys were posted in the mail to all members of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (n=379) and 166 (44%) responded. In the previous year 69 responders (42%) had done at least one SARME operation. The technique used by individual surgeons may be more experience-based than evidence-based, which leads to considerable variation.