Internal Distraction Resulted in Improved Patient-Reported Outcomes for Midface Hypoplasia.

BACKGROUND: Both internal and external distraction devices have been used successfully in correcting midface hypoplasia. Although the indication for surgery and the osteotomy techniques may be similar, deciding when to use internal versus external devices has not been studied. The authors studied patient-reported outcomes with FACE-Q and functional surveys for internal and external devices for midface distraction patients. METHODS: Patients who underwent distraction advancement after Le Fort I and Le Fort III were surveyed using the FACE-Q survey and a functional survey. Equal groups of internal and external device patients were compared (n = 64). Data recorded included: sex, age, follow-up, diagnosis, operating room time, expected blood loss, length of stay, distraction length, consolidation time, and complications. RESULTS: Internal and external device groups were similar with regards to patient diagnosis, operative time, expected blood loss, distraction length but consolidation times differed (internal = 3.6 versus external = 1.1 months). For FACE-Q appearance appraisal, there were similarities in domain and scale. For the functional survey (airway/breathing, ocular/vision, occlusion/eating, speech/articulation), there was also similar scoring. However, internal device patients had superior FACE-Q scores for Quality of Life: Social Function (80.9 versus 68.9), Early Life Impact (92.9 versus 62.4), Dental Anxiety (70.2 versus 48.3), Psychological Well-being (87.8 versus 68.6); and Decision Satisfaction (81.2 versus 56.9) and Outcome Satisfaction (91.0 versus 84.7). CONCLUSIONS: Internal and external midface distraction patients had similar patient-reported outcomes for appearance and functional improvement; however, internal device patients were more satisfied with their quality of life and their decision to undergo the procedure.

Age-Related Differences in Psychosocial Function of Children with Craniofacial Anomalies.

BACKGROUND: Age is a frequent consideration for surgical timing in pediatric craniofacial surgery for optimal psychosocial development. However, systematic evaluations of the effects of age in children under active treatment have not been thoroughly evaluated. METHODS: Ninety-nine patients (age, 8 to 17 years; 46.5 percent male) from the University of California, Los Angeles, Craniofacial Clinic were prospectively evaluated using the Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System to assess anger, anxiety, depression, and quality of peer relationships. Patients were stratified into three age groups by years: group A, 8 to 10 years, n = 30; group B, 11 to 13 years, n = 41; and group C, 14 to 17 years, n = 28. Analyses of variance and logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Significant differences in anxiety (F2,96 = 5.1; p = 0.008), depression (F2,96 = 9.7; p < 0.001), peer relationships (F2,96 = 3.5; p = 0.03), and anger (F2,96 = 4.9; p = 0.009) were found among the age groups. Group A demonstrated the highest anxiety, highest depression, and lowest peer relationship scores overall. Although there were no differences in anger between groups A and C, group B had the lowest anger scores. Children with poor scores of higher severity, defined as greater than 1 SD worse than the national mean, were compared. Group A contributed the highest percentages of more severely affected children in all categories. A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that group A was a statistically significant predictor for scores of higher severity in both anxiety (OR, 3.8; 95 percent CI, 1.3 to 11.5; p = 0.02) and peer relationships (OR, 3.4; 95 percent CI, 1.3 to 9.3; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Children between 8 and 10 years of age with craniofacial anomalies constitute a high-risk subset for psychosocial dysfunction. The authors' work suggests that tight surveillance with family and school awareness may be necessary for this age group. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Risk, II.

Correction of Unilateral Congenital Zygomatico-Mandibular Fusion.

Sygnathia, or fusion of the jaw, is a rare condition in children, occurring either in isolation or as part of a larger overall syndrome. Consequences of this bony fusion may range from feeding difficulties to a complete inability to protect the airway. Owing to the uncommon nature of this problem and the high recurrence of bony fusion, standardized treatment protocols do not yet exist, making individual reports particularly useful for guiding the first-time management of such patients. In this report, we describe the case of a male infant with complete bony fusion of the right zygomatic maxillary complex to the mandible. Fusion was separated by osteotomy, repair of soft tissue with acellular dermal matrix/grafting, and plate separation. Serial jaw manipulation and operative stretching was necessary to prevent refusion of syngnathia even in the long term.

Computed tomography image guidance for more accurate repair of anterior table frontal sinus fractures.

BACKGROUND: Anterior table frontal sinus fractures accompanied by nasofrontal duct injury require surgical correction. Extracranial approaches for anterior table osteotomies have traditionally used plain radiograph templates or a "cut-as-you-go" technique. We compared these methods with a newer technique utilizing computed tomography (CT)-guided imaging. METHODS: Data of patients with acute, traumatic anterior table frontal sinus fractures and nasofrontal duct injury between 2009 and 2013 were reviewed (n = 29). Treatment groups compared were as follows: (1) CT image guidance, (2) plain radiograph template, and (3) cut-as-you-go. Frontal sinus obliteration was performed in all cases. Demographics, operative times, length of stay, complications, and osteotomy accuracy were recorded. RESULTS: Similar demographics, concomitant injuries, operative times, and length of stay among groups were noted. No patients in the CT-guided group had perioperative complications including intraoperative injury of the dura, cerebrum, or orbital structures. In the plain radiograph template group, 25% of patients had inadvertent dural exposure, and 12.5% required take-back to the operating room for cranial bone graft donor site hematoma. In the cut-as-you-go group, 11% required hardware removal for exposure. There were no cases of cerebrospinal fluid leak, meningitis, or mucocele in any group (follow-up, 29.2 months). The CT image guidance group had the most accuracy of the osteotomies (95%) compared with plain radiograph template (85%) and the cut-as-you-go group (72.5%). CONCLUSIONS: A new technique using CT image guidance for traumatic frontal sinus fractures repair offers more accurate osteotomy and elevation of the anterior table without increased operative times or untoward sequelae.