Maxillary hypoplasia

Maxillary hypoplasia and retrusion is complex. It may involve the dentoalveolar area, or it may involve the whole midface. It may be difficult to recognize, since the patient may come only with the complaint of nasal deformity, and the occlusion may be normal. It may be difficult to treat, as in the severe Binder's syndrome, where in addition to the bony deformity, the facial mask is deficient and obviously in the wrong position. To treat the condition the surgeon must have an aesthetic sense. It is not like the situation when only the maxilla is involved; this tends to be mechanical and is related to dental malocclusion. In these patients, an aesthetic appreciation of the nose and its relationship to the maxilla, infraorbital rims, and frontal area is paramount. Unless this complete approach is used, the patient will be undertreated and end up unhappy. Patients can readily appreciate the position and the contours of the nose, but they do not understand the subtleties of the lack of a bony foundation when there is maxillary hypoplasia. Not only does this involve a high degree of aesthetic appreciation on the part of the surgeon, it also necessitates a considerable ability to convey to the patients that the problem is not the simple one that they had first imagined. When all of these subtleties are appreciated, it is possible to develop a degree of sophistication in the treatment of these patients that will yield excellent results.