title: Short-term pharyngeal airway changes after mandibular advancement surgery in adult Class II-Patients--a three-dimensional retrospective study.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate volume changes in posterior airway space (PAS) after bilateral mandibular advancement surgery. Measurements were taken based on three-dimensional (3D) records available for a large and homogeneous cohort of patients. Pre- and postoperative CBCT scans of 102 adult patients with Class II dysgnathia were visualized and analyzed using 3D software (Mimics® Innovation Suite 14.1; Materialise, Leuven, Belgium). The PAS was divided into three segments by three planes parallel and one plane perpendicular to the Frankfort horizontal plane. Total volume, partial volumes, and cross-sectional areas were calculated from the pre- and postoperative scans. Dahlberg coefficients were obtained to verify each parameter for the measurements' reliability. The statistical significance of the changes observed was analyzed by Wilcoxon's rank-sum test. Highly significant (p=0.000) increases in total posterior airway volume (+32.0%) were noted as an effect of mandibular advancement surgery, amounting to 45.6% in the lower PAS third compared to 38.8% in the middle and 12.5% in the upper PAS third. We also obtained highly significant (p=0.000) increases in all the cross-sectional areas investigated, amounting to 48.5% on the soft-palate level compared to 21.6% on the level of the epiglottis tip, and 14.6% on the hard-palate level. These results demonstrate that bilateral mandibular advancement surgery in Class II-Patients leads to significant increases in PAS volume and significant widening of the narrower sites inside the pharynx.
authors: Department of Orthodontics, University Clinic of Wuerzburg Dental School, Wuerzburg, Germany. kochel_j@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors: Janka
authors: J
authors: Kochel
authors: Philipp
authors: P
authors: Meyer-Marcotty
authors: Franka
authors: F
authors: Sickel
authors: Helmut
authors: H
authors: Lindorf
authors: Angelika
authors: A
authors: Stellzig-Eisenhauer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008312:Malocclusion, Angle Class II / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019186:Mandibular Advancement / Q000379:methods*; D009929:Organ Size; D010614:Pharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011861:Radiography, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome