Upper airways after mandibular advancement orthognathic surgery: A 4-year follow-up

The purpose of this study was to assess the stability of changes in the upper airways 4 years after orthognathic surgery in patients with skeletal Class II malocclusion. A retrospective clinical study was conducted including 33 cone-beam computed tomography images from 11 patients (average age of 35.91 years) followed up longitudinally for 4 years. The airways were measured with the help of the Dolphin Imaging software (Dolphin Imaging and Management Systems, Chatsworth, Calif) at 3 points: T1 (preoperative), T2 (6 months after surgery), and T3 (4 years after surgery). The parameters assessed were surface area (SA), minimum axial area, and volume (VOL) of the pharyngeal airway space. The times were compared using analysis of variance and Tukey’s test. Pearson’s analysis was performed to assess the correlation with surgical changes and age (P 0.05). Four years after mandibular advancement surgery in patients with skeletal Class II malocclusion, the increases in the airways remained stable. •Changes in the upper airway were assessed 4 years after orthognathic surgery.•Measurements were performed before, after, and 4 years after surgery.•Four years after surgery, the increases in the airways remained stable.