Maxillofacial surgery and obstructive sleep apnea: a review of 80 patients

To determine the effectiveness of the surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, we retrospectively evaluated 80 patients. One group consisted of 55 patients who had undergone a limited osteotomy of the anterior mandible: inferior sagittal osteotomy with hyoid myotomy and suspension. Important criteria for the selection of these patients were normal pulmonary function, normal mandibular skeletal development, and the absence of morbid obesity. Polysomnography revealed that 37 patients (67%) had responded to the surgical treatment and 18 patients (33%) had not. The second group of 25 patients, selected for morbid obesity, severe mandibular deficiency, and failure of other surgical procedures, had undergone maxillomandibular osteotomy with hyoid advancement. All patients in the second group showed good results, as determined by polysomnography.