Piezosurgery versus conventional osteotomy in orthognathic surgery: a paradigm shift in treatment.

The aim of the study was to compare in a randomized controlled clinical trial the use of the piezoelectric osteotomy as an alternative to the conventional approach in terms of surgery time, intraoperative blood loss, cut quality, nerve injury, and costs.One hundred ten patients who had orthognathic surgery procedures with bimaxillary osteotomy were divided into 2 groups: group A was treated with a piezosurgery device, and group B, with a reciprocating saw and bur.The piezosurgical bone osteotomy permitted individualized cut designs. The surgical time in group A was reduced, with a mean for the mandibular osteotomy (1 side) between 3 minutes 31 seconds and 5 minutes 2 seconds, whereas in group B, the surgical time was between 7 minutes 23 seconds and 10 minutes 22 seconds. The surgical time in group A for the Le Fort I osteotomy was between 5 minutes 17 seconds and 7 minutes 55 seconds in group A and between 8 minutes 38 seconds and 15 minutes 11 seconds in group B. All patients in group A had a low blood loss (<300 mL) versus patients of group B who had a medium to high blood loss (medium loss: 400 mL, high loss: >500 mL). Inferior alveolar nerve sensation was retained in 98.2% of group A versus 92.7% in group B at 6 months postoperative testing.Piezoelectric osteotomy reduced surgical time, blood loss, and inferior alveolar nerve injury in bimaxillary osteotomy. Absence of macrovibrations makes the instrument more manageable and easy to use and allows greater intraoperative control with higher safety in cutting in difficult anatomical regions.

Combined rhinoplasty and genioplasty: long-term follow-up.

IMPORTANCE: Long-term follow-up reference for experienced clinicians dedicated to profileplasty. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term results and complications of combined rhinoplasty and genioplasty. DESIGN: Retrospective study including objective and subjective evaluation before and after 3 years of undergoing simultaneous open rhinoplasty and genioplasty among a cohort of 90 patients. SETTING Academic medical center. PATIENTS: A total of 90 cases of combined rhinoplasty and genioplasty performed from January 2002 through January 2004 were reviewed to evaluate the stability of the esthetic result. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Long-term stability of the esthetic outcome of the simultaneous open rhinoplasty and genioplasty. RESULTS: Soft-tissue Pogonion projection to the true vertical line and mandibular height (mandibular incisor tip to menton) were recorded. As far as reduction genioplasty patients are concerned, 45.6% of the patient population had a 100% stability after 3 years (<0.25 mm resorption measured at the menton). On the other hand, if augmentation genioplasty patients are considered, 52.4% (22 patients with a vertical augmentation range from 4-6 mm; mean, 5.3 mm; and 25 patients with a sagittal augmentation from 6-8 mm; mean, 7.2 mm) had 100% stability after 3 years. The chin was stable with no more than 1 mm of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The results of the study indicate that the combined approach in correcting the facial profile is an effective procedure to achieve a more harmonic and consistent clinical outcome. The recurrence rate of less than 1 mm on the chin bone measurements is relevant to support this statement. An aesthetically proportionate face is strongly determined by the nasal-cervical relationship when observing the patient's profile. Even after a successful rhinoplasty, the patient's face can lack aesthetic attractiveness. Combined rhinoplasty-genioplasty is usually the best solution, particularly for patients with microgenia. It provides optimum patient satisfaction with a low incidence of recurrence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

Bilateral pneumothorax after orthognatic surgery.

Among complications in orthognathic surgery, the insurgence of pneumothorax is very rare. Pneumothorax is the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity and it is rare complications in the postoperative oral and maxillofacial surgery patient. The clinical results are dependent on the degree of collapse of the lung on the affected side. Pneumothorax can impair oxygenation and/or ventilation. If the pneumothorax is significant, it can cause a shift of the mediastinum and compromise haemodynamic stability. While 10% of pneumothoraces are asymptomatic, patients often complain of acute chest pain and difficulty breathing. There is a reduction in vital capacity, tachycardia, tachypnoea and a decrease in partial pressure of oxygen with an inability to maintain oxygen saturations. We observed this unusual surgical consequence in a 28-year-old female with negative clinical history and instrumental evaluation after Le Fort I osteotomy and bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO). No further consequences, no neurological sequelae, no infections and no other osteotomies sequelae were seen. Sudden post-surgical dispnea associated to sub-cutaneous emphysema of the neck and of the thorax must be adequately observed with the aim of monitoring further severe sequelae. The anaesthetic management of the emergency difficult airway in any post-surgical orthognatic treatment can be extremely difficult requiring a multi-disciplinary approach.