Coronal Split Corpus Osteotomy of the Mandible: A Modified Visor Osteotomy Technique for Bone Volume Enhancement

The bony augmentation of severely atrophied mandible is generally required for the purposes of prosthetic rehabilitations. The treatment strategies have been well defined in the literature ranging from osteotomy techniques to distraction osteogenesis. Visor osteotomy is the milestone of the reconstructive surgery for the atrophied mandible which has received some modifications. In the present study, the authors describe a new modification of visor osteotomy in which a complete coronal split osteotomy down to the inferior border at the mental region has been performed. The main advantage of this modification is to preserve the lingual cortex from the inferior border of the mandible up to the alveolar region without disturbance of the suprahyoid muscle attachments. The procedure is thought to be a "highly sensitive" one and undesired fractures may occur during splitting of the bony segments.