Two-Year Postoperative Upper Airway Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic Outcomes Based on a Verified Upper Airway Analysis Following Bimaxillary Orthognathic Surgery

Sirwan Fernandez Gurani*, Gabriele Di Carlo, Jens Jørgen Thorn, Janne Ingerslev, Paolo Maria Cattaneo, Else Marie Pinholt

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Upper airway (UA) assessment after orthognathic surgery should rely on a verified method of UA analysis. Therefore, the authors applied a new validated UA evaluation method to determine the effect of bimaxillary surgery (BMS) on UA parameters and hyoid bone and epiglottis displacement evaluated immediately and 2 years after surgery. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was implemented of patients without obstructive sleep apnea who had undergone BMS for maxillomandibular deficiencies. A new validated UA cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) analysis, based on stable anatomic landmarks, was applied to CBCT scans acquired before initiation of treatment (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), and 2 years postoperatively (T2). A quality assessment was performed before analysis. The primary predictor variable consisted of time points during treatment (T0, T1 and T2), and UA volumes, cross-sectional area (CSA), and hyoid bone and epiglottis displacement were the outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and t test were performed and the P value was set at.05. Results: Fifty patients (16 men and 34 women) with a mean age of 25.7 ± 8.2 years at time of surgery were included. CBCT scans were acquired at T0 (20 ± 9 months before surgery), T1 (14 ± 2 days after surgery), and T2 (30 ± 6 months after surgery). Immediately after surgery (T1 vs T0), BMS resulted in a statistically relevant UA volume increase of 26%. At 2-year follow-up (T2 vs T0), UA volume showed a statistically relevant increase by 20%. CSA increased by approximately 26 and 19% (P <.001) at T1 versus T0 and T2 versus T0, respectively. Two years after surgery, epiglottis displacement was 2 mm (P <.001) and hyoid bone displacement was 3 mm (P <.001) in a cranial direction and hyoid bone anterior displacement measured 3 mm (P <.001). Conclusions: Based on an objective, standardized, and validated CBCT UA analysis, BMS was associated with increased UA volume and CSA measures evaluated immediately and 2 years after surgery.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume77
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)1435-1445
ISSN0278-2391
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2019

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