Short-term stability and muscle adaptation after mandibular advancement surgery with and without suprahyoid myotomy in juvenile Macaca mulatta

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term adaptations that occur within the mandible and anterior digastric muscle complex after mandibular advancement with and without suprahyoid myotomy in 20 juvenile rhesus monkeys. The results showed that the animals that did not undergo myotomy experienced relapse equivalent to 13% of the surgical advancement. Those animals that underwent a myotomy of the digastric muscle complex showed complete stability of the surgical lengthening of the mandible. Both groups of animals grew normally after the fixation period when compared to age-matched control animals. Analysis of adaptations within the digastric muscle complex was performed with the use of radiopaque muscle and tendon markers. The results showed an immediate lengthening of the entire digastric muscle complex with mandibular advancement surgery in the group that underwent advancement without myotomy. Further analysis showed that most lengthening in these animals occurred at the connective tissue interfaces of the complex—at the muscle-bone and muscle-tendon interfaces. No significant changes in sarcomere or fiber length were found in the group that did not undergo myotomy, although there was a significant shortening of muscle fibers resulting from loss of serial sarcomeres in the myotomy group. Comparison of histochemical characteristics of the anterior digastric muscle before and after surgery revealed the following findings: (1) there were no significant differences in percentage of composition between control and experimental muscles; (2) despite fixation of the jaws and myotomy, there was no evidence of atrophy of the anterior digastric muscle at any experimental interval; and (3) the type I fibers of the anterior digastric muscle underwent significant stretch-induced hypertrophy after lengthening. The results of this study support the hypothesis that tension produced by stretching of the connective tissues associated with the digastric muscle complex can contribute to postsurgical relapse of the surgically advanced mandible. However, no adverse effect on future growth of the mandible was observed from stretching the digastric muscle complex by mandibular advancement surgery in juvenile subjects.