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Assessment of the pharyngeal airway space after mandibular setback surgery
1School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0440, USA.
Purpose:
This retrospective study evaluated the change in pharyngeal airway space associated with surgical mandibular setback.
Patients And Methods:
Lateral cephalograms of 14 adult patients taken preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at long-term follow-up were traced, and the width of the pharyngeal airway space and the pharyngeal airway space area were calculated and compared.
Results:
At long-term follow-up, the mean amount of mandibular setback was 9.7 mm. The mean reduction in the distance from the tongue base to the posterior pharyngeal wall was 4.77 mm (28% decrease). The mean reduction in pharyngeal airway space area was 1.52 cm2, which corresponded to a 12.8% reduction. There was a strong correlation between the amount of mandibular setback and the decrease in pharyngeal airway space area.
Conclusion:
Mandibular setback surgery causes a long-term decrease in pharyngeal airway space area. In patients who have other risk factors, for example, overweight, short necks, or large tongues, a mandibular setback procedure could possibly predispose to the development of sleep apnea syndrome.