Morphology of the viscerocranium in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome--cephalometric evaluation of 400 patients.

The aim of this study was the cephalometric evaluation of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea in order to see whether certain craniofacial characteristics exist. Additional to known skeletal facial parameters cephalometric analysis has been used to establish pharyngeal dimensions. Surprisingly, many patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (nearly 40%) showed certain craniofacial characteristics which apparently predispose to pharyngeal obstruction and to obstructive sleep apnoea. More than one third of 400 patients prove to have pharyngeal narrowing combined with more or less distinct maxillary and mandibular deficiency. Cephalometric evaluation helps to identify sleep apnoea patients, in whom maxillomandibular advancement surgery might be effective in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea. According to our results, an indication for surgical treatment by maxillomandibular advancement exists in patients with maxillary and especially mandibular deficiency combined with pharyngeal narrowing.