Facial skeletal growth after timed soft-tissue undermining

This study was designed to answer the following questions: (1) Does aggressive bilateral soft-tissue undermining of the nasomaxillary complex in an immature animal without an iatrogenically produced cleft lip significantly inhibit growth? (2) If so, is the early timing of this undermining crucial? Fifty New Zealand White rabbits were used in this study, and bilateral buccal sulcus incisions with extensive nasomaxillary supraperiosteal undermining were performed in the experimental groups. There were five groups: (1) control, (2) undermining at 3 to 4 days, (3) undermining at 7 to 10 days, (4) undermining at 18 to 21 days, and (5) undermining at 50 to 56 days. The animals were sacrificed at 6 months of age, and direct osteometric measurements were made. Results demonstrated that a significantly retruded, constricted, and vertically shortened maxilla was produced as a direct result of bilateral nasomaxillary soft-tissue undermining alone regardless of the timing.