Evaluation of Changes in the Pharyngeal Airway Space as a Sequele to Mandibular Advancement Surgery: A Cephalometric Study

R Nishanth; Ramen Sinha; Dushyanth Paul; Uday Kiran Uppada; B V Rama Krishna; Prabhat Tiwari

doi:10.1007/s12663-019-01266-1

Evaluation of Changes in the Pharyngeal Airway Space as a Sequele to Mandibular Advancement Surgery: A Cephalometric Study

J Maxillofac Oral Surg. 2020 Sep;19(3):407-413. doi: 10.1007/s12663-019-01266-1. Epub 2019 Jul 29.

Authors

R Nishanth¹, Ramen Sinha², Dushyanth Paul², Uday Kiran Uppada², B V Rama Krishna², Prabhat Tiwari²

Affiliations

¹ Hyderabad, India.
² Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Sri Sai College of Dental Surgery, Vikarabad, India.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate effect of mandibular advancement on pharyngeal airway space using lateral cephalogram.

Materials and methods: Twenty patients who were diagnosed with class II skeletal malocclusion and underwent surgical intervention for the correction of their dentofacial deformity following orthodontic treatment were included. The soft tissue changes in the pharyngeal space were brought about by the surgical intervention, and the changes that had occurred in increasing the airway were evaluated by using cephalogram.

Results: The results of this study showed that following mandibular advancement surgery, the pharyngeal airway space increased along with an increase in the length and thickness of the uvula with a reduction in the angulation. All the changes remained stable in the late postoperative phase.

Conclusion: Patients who underwent mandibular advancement showed a significant increase in the pharyngeal airway space and that remained stable during the evaluation period. As a consequence, mandibular advancement seems to be the most stable surgical movement in relation to airway dimensional gains.

Keywords: Airway changes; Mandibular advancement; Obstructive sleep apnea.