Surgical Stability After Proximal Segment Angle Alteration in Patients With Class III Facial Asymmetry.

Purpose: Patients with facial asymmetry often seek improved symmetry in lower face contour resulting in transverse movement of the proximal segments. The study aimed to investigate the association between transverse change in the proximal segments and postoperative relapse after the surgical correction of skeletal Class III facial asymmetry.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study includes consecutive patients with skeletal Class III asymmetry who underwent 2-jaw orthognathic surgery. The primary predictor variable was ramus plane angle (RPA). The patients were grouped as small (S group, <4°) and large (L group, ≥4°) changes in RPA. The primary outcome was the positional change of B point, menton, and the intergonial width. Cone-beam computed tomography images were obtained before surgery (T0), 1 week after surgery (T1), and debond (T2). Intergroup comparison was conducted with independent t test. Correlations between the variables were estimated by Pearson correlation.

Results: The study sample was composed of 60 subjects with 30 subjects in each study group. In the S group, the mean surgical changes of RPA were inward rotated 0.91° bilaterally. In the L group, the mean surgical changes of RPA were inward rotated 4.80° and 0.32° on the deviated and non-deviated side. After surgery, further minor inward adaptation of both sides was noted (<1 mm), and intergonial distance reduced with these changes in the proximal segments. By comparing the postsurgical stability between S and L group, the overall sagittal and vertical stability had no significant difference between 2 groups. However, the postsurgical transverse menton relapse (ΔMe in T2-T1) was significantly larger in L group (0.81 ± 1.40 mm) than S group (0.04 ± 1.32 mm) by 0.77 mm (P = .014).

Conclusion: Greater surgical changes in the proximal segments had minor clinical effect on transverse stability. Minor transverse overcorrection of 1 mm is recommended in cases with severe facial symmetry with extensive changes in the proximal segments.