A study on relation of position of hyoidbone and upper airway dimensional change according to chin movement in persons with skeletal class III facial pattern after orthognathic surgery

ABSTRACT

goal of this study is the comparison of upper airway size and change of skeletal Class I group and skeletal Class III group (before operation, within 2 weeks after operation, 6 months after operation) respectively. At first, we measured the lines between selected upper air way landmarks on lateral cephalometric x-ray film of skeletal Class I 40 persons whoes age were 23-26 years old, and did the same lines of landmarks of skeletal Class III 44 persons who had not been operated yet, were within 2 weeks after operation, were 6 months after operation. And we compared it respectively and analyzed it with paired t-test. We studied the relationship of those on produced data. 1. Skeletal Class III group was narrower in nasopharyngeal air way space than that of skeletal Class I group, and increased in thickness of oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal wall within 2 weeks after operation, and reduced in nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal air way space, and did in thickness of nasopharngeal, hypopharyngeal wall 6 months after operation. 2. Skeletal Class III group reduced in nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal air way space, and increased in thickness of nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal wall within 2 weeks after operation, restored the thickness of nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal wall, but did not restored nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal air way space. 3. Vertical length from hyoid bone to mandibular plane did not have signifacant difference from Class I group but after operation, it increased more than Class I group significantly. 4. The size of airway reduced after operation. Among this, oropharyngeal airway most reduced.