Long-term condylar remodelling after bimaxillary orthognathic surgery in skeletal Class III patients

In this study, we aimed to evaluate long-term condylar remodelling in skeletal Class III patients who underwent bimaxillary orthognathic surgery using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Twenty-three patients were studied retrospectively, and a total of 4 CBCT scans were obtained for each subject: 1 month before surgery (T0), immediately after the surgery (T1), 6 months after the surgery (T2), and 6.1 (±2.1 years after the surgery) (T3). Condylar remodelling was measured using the condylar volume, height, width, and depth. To examine a significant change, a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance was performed. The correlation between postoperative skeletal movement and condylar volume was assessed using Spearman's correlation analysis. Condylar volume and height showed a significant decrease from T1 to T2 but a significant increase from T2 to T3. Furthermore, a significant decrease was observed between T1 and T3. The condylar width and depth showed no significant changes. Postoperative skeletal movement showed no correlation with the change in condylar volume. The change in condylar volume mostly occurred as the condylar height changed. However, it did not contribute much to the postoperative skeletal movement.