title: Soft tissue profile changes after mandibular vestibuloplasty. A two-year follow-up study comparing the Edlan flap, mucosal and skin graft methods.
abstract: It is the aim of the present study to examine the pattern of postoperative changes in the soft tissue profile of 50 edentulous patients after 3 common types of mandibular vestibuloplasty, the Edlan flap operation (n = 15), the buccal mucosal graft (n = 19), and the skin graft vestibuloplasty (n = 16). The soft tissue profile changes were recorded on lateral cephalometric radiographs taken preoperatively, and after 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post surgery. The 3 groups did not differ with respect to clinical features or presurgical cranio-facial morphology. Neither was any significant difference in postoperative profile changes found between the groups. The surgery gave rise, directly and indirectly, to a number of changes in the facial soft tissue profile many of which were interrelated. The chin thickness increased by 2.3 mm, and the lower lip height exhibited a reduction of 1.8 mm at 1 month after surgery as a direct consequence of the operation. After 3 months the profile changes were mostly associated with the reduction of the anterior face height (overclosure).
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Royal Dental College, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hillerup
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Solow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002508:Cephalometry; D002680:Chin / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000637:transplantation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014716:Vertical Dimension; D014727:Vestibuloplasty / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*