U-Shaped Osseous Release for Le Fort 1 Osteotomy: Potential Application to Superior Repositioning

This study was performed to investigate the utility of U-shaped osseous release (USOR) for Le Fort 1 osteotomy as a novel surgical technique for superior repositioning. Thirty-six patients with jaw deformities were divided into 2 groups based on whether or not USOR was adopted (18 in the non-adoption group and 18 in the adoption group). Maxillary surgical time, blood loss, and discrepancy from the planned amount of movement (anterior-posterior and superior-inferior directions) were compared between the 2 groups. Correlations between these items and the planned amount of superior-inferior movement were also examined. There were no significant differences in mean age, preset displacement, surgical time, blood loss, body mass index, or preset displacement error. However, a significant positive correlation was observed between the planned and actual amount of vertical movement only in the adoption group ( P =0.0018). In addition, there was a tendency for the error (downward) to increase as the amount of upward movement increased in the non-adoption group, but not the adoption group. These findings suggest that USOR may be a useful technique because it can safely and conveniently remove bony interference and can enable guidance to a more precise position, especially in cases with substantial superior movement.