The effect of infrahyoid muscle sectioning on hyoid bone position and oropharyngeal air column volume

Objective/Hypothesis To evaluate the spatial hyoid bone position and the oropharyngeal air column volume after infrahyoid muscle sectioning as a single procedure. Study Design Animal experiment. Methods Six adult New Zealand rabbits underwent sternohyoid, omohyoid, and thyrohyoid muscle sectioning for infrahyoid release. Preoperative and postoperative computed tomography scans were obtained and transferred to the Mimics software program. By using the program, preoperative and postoperative three‐dimensional models of the spatial hyoid bone position and the oropharyngeal air column volume were determined and compared. Results After the surgical intervention, it was found that the hyoid bone significantly moved to a more anterior (P = .028, P = .046), and superior (P = .028, P = .028) position. The preoperative mean oropharyngeal air column volume (618.88 ± 176.54 mm3) also increased after infrahyoid muscle sectioning (797.01 ± 155.33 mm3). and this change was also statistically significant (P = .028). Conclusions Infrahyoid release improves oropharyngeal air column volume, as the hyoid bone moves to a more anterior and superior position after this operation in an animal model. However, additional animal and human studies are necessary to evaluate a possible therapeutic role of this procedure. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 125:1480–1484, 2015