Postoperative maxillary stability after Le Fort I osteotomy using a u-HA/PLLA system: three-dimensional analysis by...

The postoperative stability achieved with Le Fort I osteotomy (LFI) using bioabsorbable systems remains controversial. A new method - multipoint measurement method - was devised for detailed three-dimensional examination of postoperative stability following LFI, and the stability after LFI when using SuperFIXSORB-MX made of u-HA/PLLA was investigated. Thirty-one patients who underwent LFI using SuperFIXSORB-MX were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were divided into four malocclusion types: open bite, mandibular retrognathia, mandibular protrusion, and facial asymmetry. Seven maxillary reference points were measured three-dimensionally using computed tomography scans obtained preoperatively (T0), 4 days post-surgery (T1), and 1 year post-surgery (T2). Surgical changes (T1-T0) and the postoperative discrepancy (T2-T1) of the maxilla were analysed to evaluate postoperative stability by surface superimposition of the virtual LFI segments. Postoperative discrepancy was the largest for the facial asymmetry type, ranging from 0.75 ± 0.45 mm to 0.98 ± 0.52 mm in three-dimensional distance (minimum to maximum mean ± standard deviation values for the individual reference points). The relapse at U1 was 16% in the transverse axis, and the anterior nasal spine moved further upward by 17% of the amount of movement of the maxilla. Fixation with SuperFIXSORB-MX was considered to be within clinically acceptable limits.