Correction of facial asymmetry resulting from hemimandibular hyperplasia: surgical steps to the esthetic result.

Hemimandibular hyperplasia is a facial deformity in which there is an increase in the condyle, neck of the condyle or ramus, and an occlusal cant. Different surgical treatments are proposed in the literature, from simple low or high condylectomy to more complex procedures combining osteotomies in different sites of the mandible. Surgical procedure is defined by the scintigraphic diagnosis of activity or inactivity in the center of condylar growth. The case report describes a 35-year-old female patient with hemimandibular hyperplasia on the left side with inactivity of condylar growth, successfully treated with bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy associated with a basilar osteotomy in form of "L" on the affected side. The surgical technique was easily executed, with an improvement in function, aesthetics, and patient satisfaction. Correction of facial asymmetry caused by excessive growth of the mandible using this basilar osteotomy in the form of "L" combined with bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy proved to be a relatively simple technique of easy execution with a low risk of nerve damage.

Implant handpiece with adapted drills in orthognathic surgery: preventing facial scars.

The attachment of bilateral sagittal-split osteotomy of the mandibular ramus with bicortical screws or the combination of miniplates and a bicortical screw is complicated through the intraoral approach because of the angle required for insertion of screws, so it is necessary to use a trocater. This article aimed to report a technique developed and used in 60 patients, wherein an implant handpiece with adapted drills was used in the intraoral attachment. The setting was performed intraorally to prevent scarring and extraoral facial nerve damage, which may be caused by extraoral and transbuccal approaches routinely performed when using the trocater. The versatility of the handpiece implant allows for the insertion of monocortical and bicortical screws and rigid internal fixation of mandibular sagittal-split osteotomy, as well as surgical time reduction, decreasing postoperative morbidity.

Pharyngeal airway changes in Class III patients treated with double jaw orthognathic surgery--maxillary advancement and mandibular setback.

PURPOSE: The pharyngeal airway may change after skeletal movement in patients who have undergone orthognathic surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the skeletal and pharyngeal airway changes in subjects with a Class III facial pattern who underwent double-jaw surgery (maxillary advancement and mandibular setback). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present retrospective study assessed preoperative (T0), 2- to 4-month postoperative (T1), and 6- to 12-month postoperative (T2) radiographs of subjects with a Class III facial pattern treated at São Lucas Hospital (Porto Alegre, Brazil) using imaging software (Dolphin Imaging 3D 11.5). Five measurements of the pharyngeal airway space (nasopharynx; upper, middle, and lower oropharynges; hypopharynx) were evaluated and correlated with the skeletal movement of the jaws (lines perpendicular to the Frankfurt horizontal plane passing through the nasion point to points A and B). The Student t test for paired samples was used to assess the presence of significant differences between the intervals, and the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to assess the significant correlation existing between the skeletal movement and the pharyngeal airway changes. The results were considered at a maximum level of significance of 5% (P < .05). RESULTS: In the sample of 58 subjects (38 female and 20 male, 18 to 48 years old), measurements of the nasopharynx, upper oropharynx, and middle oropharynx increased, whereas measurements of the lower oropharynx and hypopharynx decreased during these periods (T0 to T1, T0 to T2). Decreases from T1 to T2 in the measurements of the nasopharynx and upper oropharynx were also identified. A correlation between the jaw movements and the change in airway measurement was found between the line perpendicular to the Frankfurt horizontal plane passing through the nasion point to point A and the nasopharynx and between the line perpendicular to the Frankfurt horizontal plane passing through the nasion point to point B and the lower oropharynx for T0 to T1 and T0 to T2. CONCLUSIONS: A correlation between skeletal movements and changes in the measurements of pharyngeal airway was found between maxillary advancement and the nasopharynx, with proportions of 102.8% and 85.5% in the short and medium terms, respectively, and between mandibular setback and the low oropharynx, with proportions of 44.8% and 43.5% in the short and medium terms. A correlation for pharyngeal airway measurements was found between those located anatomically near each other, showing the importance of the pharyngeal muscles in this relation.