title: Correction of Unilateral Congenital Zygomatico-Mandibular Fusion.
abstract: Sygnathia, or fusion of the jaw, is a rare condition in children, occurring either in isolation or as part of a larger overall syndrome. Consequences of this bony fusion may range from feeding difficulties to a complete inability to protect the airway. Owing to the uncommon nature of this problem and the high recurrence of bony fusion, standardized treatment protocols do not yet exist, making individual reports particularly useful for guiding the first-time management of such patients. In this report, we describe the case of a male infant with complete bony fusion of the right zygomatic maxillary complex to the mandible. Fusion was separated by osteotomy, repair of soft tissue with acellular dermal matrix/grafting, and plate separation. Serial jaw manipulation and operative stretching was necessary to prevent refusion of syngnathia even in the long term.
authors.affiliation: *Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA †Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rough
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Hindin
authors.forename: Justine C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D062088:Acellular Dermis; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000002:abnormalities; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005146:Facial Asymmetry / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D008437:Maxilla / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000379:methods; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D015050:Zygoma / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery