Dt. Lanigan et J. Loewy, POSTOPERATIVE COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY SCAN STUDY OF THE PTERYGOMAXILLARY SEPARATION DURING THE LE-FORT-I OSTEOTOMY USING A MICRO-OSCILLATING SAW, Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery, 53(10), 1995, pp. 1161-1166
Purpose: The objective of the study was to evaluate the type of pteryg
omaxillary separation that occurs with use of a micro-oscillating saw.
Patients and Methods: Sixteen patients underwent a postoperative comp
uted tomography scan, Results: Ideal or near-ideal separations occurre
d on 26 of 32 sides (81%), while low-level fractures occurred in 6 of
32 sides (19%). No high-level fractures of the pterygoid plates, or fr
actures extending to the base of the skull or orbit, were seen, There
was a striking difference in the number of ideal separations on the ri
ght-hand side (94%), compared with the left-hand side (50%), probably
because of the greater difficulty of a right-handed surgeon positionin
g the saw blade correctly on the left side without bending the thin fl
exible saw blade backward. Conclusion, In view of the high percentage
of ideal pterygomaxillary separations achieved using a micro-oscillati
ng saw, and the absence of high-level pterygoid plate fractures extend
ing to the base of the skull, this technique is recommended for the pt
erygomaxillary dysjunction.