Anatomical study of the complications of intraoral vertico-sagittal ramus osteotomy

The present study was performed to determine the variations in anatomical features of the ramus and the course of the maxillary artery to reduce the risk of injury during intraoral vertico-sagittal ramus osteotomy (IVSRO).

The locations and sizes of anatomical features of the medial aspect of mandibular rami were measured in 94 bilateral sides of 47 dry mandibles as a control group, and the results were compared with 3-dimensional computed tomography images of 44 sides of 22 patients with prognathism. We also dissected 12 sides of 6 mandibles from cadavers in a simulated IVSRO procedure to determine the course of the maxillary artery near the medial aspect of the ramus.

In the dry mandibles and patients with prognathism, the mandibular foramen was located slightly posterior to the center of the width of the mandibular ramus, and the lingula tip was located about one third the distance from the sigmoid notch to the inferior border of the ramus. The distance from the lateral margin of the mandibular foramen to the lateral surface of the mandibular ramus ranged from 3.1 to 4.4 mm. However, these distances showed various ranges. In the mandibles from Asian cadavers, the maxillary artery approached close to the ramus and passed lateral to the lower head of the lateral pterygoid muscle.

The position of the mandibular foramen in rami varies among individuals and, therefore, should be confirmed preoperatively on axial CT images. In addition, the maxillary artery approaches close to the medial aspect of the sigmoid notch in many cases. Therefore, the medial aspect from the sigmoid notch should be exposed carefully in the IVSRO procedure to avoid damaging the maxillary artery.