Clinical evaluation of distraction osteogenesis in the treatment of mandibular hypoplasia.

BACKGROUND: Mandibular hypoplasia is one of the most frequently encountered craniofacial anomalies with a variety of etiologies, including congenital, developmental, and acquired. It can lead to significant functional issues at birth by creating an obstruction of the hypopharynx with the retropositioning of the base of the tongue, which lead to respiratory and feeding difficulties at birth. Later in life, mandibular hypoplasia may have a severe impact on the quality of life of the patient, affecting mastication, speech, and appearance. Distraction osteogenesis (DO) of the craniofacial skeleton emerged as an alternative to orthognathic surgery. It is a topic of great interest; the technique is gaining enthusiasm for the treatment of a wide range of deformities and achieved wide acceptance in orthopedics.

AIM: The objective of the study was to determine the changes in overbite, overjet, and midline shift following mandibular DO in Iraqi patients.

METHODS: Nine patients (3 males and 6 females) underwent extraoral multidirectional mandibular DO after proper clinical evaluation. After performing the corticotomy and a mean of 5-day latency period, the distraction was performed at a rate of 0.5 mm twice a day. Subsequent consolidation period mean was 2 months.

RESULTS: The mandible was successfully elongated in 9 patients with significant decrease in overbite, overjet, and midline shift, and the actual horizontal movement needed in the correction of overjet is more than the horizontal distractor lengthening.