Mandibular muscle attachments in genial advancement surgery for obstructive sleep apnea

Genioglossus advancement is performed in select patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Surgical techniques attempt to capture the genial tubercle of the mandible; however, measurements of the genioglossus, geniohyoid, and digastric muscles are poorly delineated. This investigation is the largest anatomic study exploring the muscles of genial advancement surgery and the first to quantitatively characterize muscular attachments relative to the tubercle, providing new insights from an anatomic perspective on optimizing muscular advancement.

Cadaveric study.

Fifty-three fresh cadaveric mandibles underwent dissection of the genial tubercle and genioglossus, geniohyoid, and digastric muscles.

Genial tubercle, geniohyoid, and genioglossus mean height was 7.78 mm, 5.15 mm, and 6.11 mm, respectively. On average, the geniohyoid began 4.88 mm and ended 10.03 mm from the inferior border of the mandible; the genioglossus 11.91 mm and 18.01 mm, similarly. Intermuscular distance, if present, was 2.67 mm; the muscles overlapped in 28% of cadavers. The combined vertical height of the muscles at their mandibular attachment was 13.94 mm, significantly differing from the height of the genial tubercle. The left and right lateral insertion of the digastric muscles was 19.34 mm and 19.31 mm, respectively, from midline.

The variable range of muscle attachments suggests that genioglossal and geniohyoid attachments extend beyond the genial tubercle and may not originate concentrically from the tubercle, but overlap and lie in very close proximity. Mandibular anterior muscle attachments require anatomic accuracy and an effective operative evaluation of advancement before reproducible, clinically effective osteotomies can be recommended.

NA Laryngoscope, 129:2424-2429, 2019.