Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term stability of surgical maxillary expansion using patient-specific fixation implants (PSFIs) without intraoral retention.
Materials and methods: Fifteen patients who had undergone segmented Le Fort I osteotomy and PSFIs with available preoperative (t0) early (t1) and 1-year follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans (t2) were evaluated. The early and 1-year 3D models were superimposed to transfer the bony landmarks; the distances between each pair of landmarks at the different time points were then measured. The distances between the canines and second molars were also measured directly on the CT scans.
Results: The achieved maxillary expansions ranged from a median of 4.39 (2.00-6.27) mm at the greater palatine foramina to a median of 2.14 (1.56-2 > 83) mm at the canine level of the palatal bone. One year postoperatively, the changes in skeletal diameters ranged from a median of - 0.53 (- 1.65 to 0.41) mm at the greater palatine foramina (p = 0.12) to 0.17 (- 0.09 to 0.32) mm at the canine level of the palatal bone (p = 0.56). Changes in dental arch diameters ranged from a median of - 0.6 (- 2 to 0.00) mm between the second molars to - 1.3 (- 1.8 to - 0.25) mm between the canines (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed the stability of maxillary expansion osteotomy using PSFIs, even without postoperative intraoral retention.
Clinical relevance: PSFIs are a reliable method for the surgical treatment of transverse maxillary discrepancy. PFSIs are easy-to-use and improve surgical accuracy.
Keywords: Computer-aided surgery; Cross bite; Maxillary expansion; Orthognathic surgery; Stability.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.