[Surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea by modifying the facial skeleton with reference to cephalometric...

Cephalometry: Morphologic alterations can be found in a great deal of patients with OSAS, predisposing to the rise of sleep apnea. In addition to preexisting investigations we developed a cephalometric analysis to judge these alterations in patients with OSAS. Comparing 160 patients to healthy people pharyngeal obstructions could be found in more than one third of the patients, usually combined with a retrognathic dolichofacial morphology.

As successful treatment of our own patients shows, curing of obstructive sleep apnea is possible in respect of these cephalometric alterations. The basis of surgical treatment consists of surgical advancement of the mandible by sagittal split osteotomy and advancement of the maxilla by Le Fort I-osteotomy. Advancement surgery must be done in consideration of the morphologic alterations mentioned above. Additionally secondary procedures can be taken into account as genioplasty, soft-tissue-corrections or corrections of the upper airways.