Anterior skeletal fixation as an adjunct to oblique sliding osteotomy of the mandibular ramus: A cephalometric study

Abstract

Positional changes of the mandible and upper and lower incisors were studied by means of cephalometric analysis after oblique sliding osteotomy for the correction of mandibular prognathism. In addition to intermaxillary fixation, skeletal fixation between the anterior nasal spine and the chin was used. The patients were followed up for 18 months after surgery. During the fixation period no increase in anterior facial height was observed and at 18 months this had decreased by 2.2 mm. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the mandibular plane angle by 3.8 degrees which mainly occurred during the fixation period. The posterior facial height decreased by 4.0 mm. As to the changes of the incisors these varied between individuals, but the mean values were small. Anterior skeletal fixation prevented increase in anterior facial height and seemed to limit the posterior shortening of the mandible and the extrusion of the mandibular incisors. However, the benefits remained rather limited.