Effect of fixation method on intergonial width stability after mandibular setback via bilateral sagittal split...

Area of Science:

• Orthognathic surgery
• Craniofacial surgery
• Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Background:

• Skeletal class III malocclusion often requires mandibular setback surgery.
• Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) is a common procedure for mandibular setback.
• Postoperative changes in intergonial (IG) width following BSSO are a concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate postoperative changes in intergonial (IG) width after BSSO.
• To compare IG width changes between positional screw and miniplate fixation methods.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of skeletal class III patients undergoing BSSO for mandibular setback.
• Internal fixation using either positional screws or miniplates.
• Postero-anterior cephalograms taken preoperatively, 1 month, and 6 months postoperatively.
• Measurement of intergonial (IG) width and its alterations.

Main Results:

• Intergonial (IG) width decreased postoperatively with both fixation methods.
• A significant decrease in IG width was noted between preoperative and 6-month postoperative measurements in the miniplate group.
• No significant difference in IG width change was found between positional screws and miniplates.
• The magnitude of IG width change was smaller with positional screws than with miniplates.

Conclusions:

• Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) leads to a reduction in intergonial (IG) width.
• Positional screws may offer a slight advantage over miniplates in minimizing IG width reduction.
• The amount of mandibular setback does not correlate with postoperative IG width changes.