[Analysis of a change in the position of the hyoid bone when displacing the lower jaw in patients with dentofacial malformations].

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the magnitude of a change in the position of the hyoid bone when displacing the lower jaw during surgical treatment in patients with dentofacial abnormalities.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Fifty patients with dentofacial abnormalities (25 and 25 patients with distal and mesial occlusion, respectively) were examined and treated. All the patients underwent multislice spiral computed tomography before and 6 months after surgery. The authors developed linear quantities to analyze the position of the hyoid bone with respect to the skull base and cervical spine. The paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used.

RESULTS

None of the examined groups was noted to have a statistically significant change in the distance between the basihyoid and the vertebral column, suggesting that the datum was moderately changed. No case of worse respiratory function was found.

CONCLUSION

Our investigation has revealed that mandible displacement during orthognathic surgery causes no critcal change in the position of the hyoid bone and hence it has no significant impact on upper airway patency in this area.