The stability of facial osteotomies .4. Maxillary and mandibular (with or without chin) advancement with rigid internal fixation

The short-term (6 weeks postoperative) and long-term (12 months postoperative) horizontal skeletal stability of combined maxillary and mandibular advancement was evaluated by cephalometric analysis of 15 patients. The mean horizontal advancement of the maxilla was 5.84 mm. Six weeks later a mean horizontal relapse of 0.03 mm (0.05%) was identified. The mean horizontal relapse at long-term follow-up was 0.59 mm (10.1%). The mean horizontal advancement of the mandible was 12.35 mm at menton and 12.65 mm at pogonion. At 6 weeks, mean horizontal relapse, respectively at the above landmarks, was 0.11 mm and 0.21 mm (1.3%). The mean horizontal relapse at long-term follow-up was 2.19 mm and 1.98 mm (16.6%) respectively for the same landmarks. Subjectively and objectively, improvements were seen in facial aesthetics and dental occlusion. The results indicate that rigid fixation of osteotomies undertaken to correct 'horizontal facial deficiency' is a surgically predictable and relatively stable procedure when reviewed up to 12 months after surgery.