Assessing postoperative maxillary advancement stability in patients with cleft lip and palate

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the post-surgical stability of patients with cleft lip and palate that underwent maxillary advancement surgery. The study was conducted by means of cephalometric analysis of the soft tissues in digital radiographs acquired preoperatively, immediate postoperatively and six months after surgery using Dolphin Imaging 11.5 software. The effective sample consisted of 87 patients, among whom 50 (57.4%) were male and 37 (42.6%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 23.1 years, the minimum age was 17 years, and the maximum age was 37 years. Patients underwent maxillary advancement with cephalometric analysis during the preoperative and postoperative period, which was around six months. The results revealed a significant tendency for relapse in the vertical direction with instability of the occlusal plane. In the postoperative period, counterclockwise movement of the maxillomandibular complex was observed, leading to height reduction of the lower third of the face and increased facial angle. The observed changes were not correlated with the extent of the sagittal advancement.