Frontal-view nasolabial soft tissue alterations after bimaxillary orthognathic surgery in Class III patients.

Abstract

The aim of this before-after clinical trial was to evaluate nasolabial soft tissue changes in the frontal plane after bimaxillary surgery. A total of 20 skeletal Class III Iranian patients needing bimaxillary Le Fort I osteotomy plus mandibular setback surgery were enrolled in this trial. Patients underwent 4.02±1.02mm of maxillary advancement (Le Fort I osteotomy, 4.33±1.21mm in men, 3.81±0.86mm in women) and 7.13±1.74mm of mandibular setback (intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy, 7.71±2.33mm in men, and 6.74±1.16mm in women). Data were acquired via 2D frontal photographs. We compared pretreatment baseline (T 1), preoperative postorthodontic treatment (T 2), and postoperative (T 3) anthropometric measurements using repeated-measures ANOVA and Bonferroni tests (α=0.05). The 20 patients (12 men, 8 women) were aged 21.85±1.75years. Between T 1 and T 2, nasal width, cutaneous upper labial heights increased overall; cutaneous lower labial height decreased (P<0.05). Between T 2 and T 3, nasal width, widths of the philtrum and mouth, cutaneous upper-lip height, vermilion height of the lower lip, lateral upper-lip height increased; the upper-lip vermilion height and cutaneous lower lip height decreased (P<0.05). The changes ranged between 0.5 and 5mm. The applied orthognathic surgery procedures might widen the alar base and mouth width. It might increase the lateral upper-lip height, vermilion height of the lower lip, and cutaneous and overall upper-lip heights while reducing upper-lip vermilion height and shortening the overall lower-lip height.