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Updated: May 20, 2026
Midface Hypoplasia and Cranial Base Morphology in Syndromic Craniosynostosis: A Comparative Analysis Study Using a Predictive Regression Model
Published on: November 4, 2025
Changes of mandibular ramal height, during growth in unilateral hemifacial microsomia patients and unaffected
E M Ongkosuwito1, J van Vooren, J W van Neck
1Department of Orthodontics, Erasmus MC-Sophia, University Medical Center, Dr Molewaterplein 60, 3015 GJ Rotterdam, The Netherlands. e.ongkosuwito@erasmusmc.nl
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to design mandibular ramal height growth curves for patients with HFM and compare those with the curves for a Dutch reference population. Two hundred fifty-one pre-operative orthopantomograms (OPTs) from 84 patients with unilateral HFM were used in conjunction with a control set of 2260 OPTs from 329 healthy individuals from the Nijmegen Growth Study (NGS) to determine mandibular ramal distances. For grades I/IIa and IIb/III, and for both sides, growth curves were constructed for mandibular ramal height with a linear curve-fitting procedure. This procedure revealed a significant difference between HFM patients and the NGS control group (p < 0.001); both in the mild and severe group mandibular ramal height differed significantly between the affected and non-affected side (p < 0.001). Growth was similar between HFM patients and the NGS control group. HFM patients therefore start with a smaller mandible and end with a smaller mandible, but experience growth similar to the Dutch normal population. These growth curves may aid the timing and determination of the combined surgical orthodontic treatment plan for HFM patients.
