DISTRACTION OSTEOGENESIS FOR CORRECTION OF TRANSVERSE MANDIBULAR DEFICIENCY - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

Purpose: This article reviews the early results with distraction osteo genesis to correct transverse width deficiencies in the mandible, Pati ents and Methods: Nine patients with congenital/developmental maxillo- facial skeletal deformities had distraction osteogenesis performed, Al l patients had study casts and cephalometric and dental radiographs ob tained before and after surgery. Eight of the nine patients also had s imultaneous surgical assisted-rapid palatal expansion (SA-RPE), The ot her patient had nonsurgical RPE. Results: Successful completion of the planned mandibular symphyseal distraction was achieved in eight of ni ne patients. Four of the nine experienced failure of the distraction a ppliance because of stripping of the distraction tram. Three of them u nderwent reoperation. The mean expansion achieved in the anterior mand ible measured at the canines was 3.9 mm. Conclusions: These preliminar y results suggest that distraction osteogenesis is a viable option to correct transverse discrepancies of the mandible.