Distraction osteogenesis of the mandible for airway obstruction in children: Long‐term results

Abstract

Long-term follow-up data on patients treated with mandibular distraction for upper airway obstruction show sustained airway improvement. Additionally, micrognathic children treated with distraction have improved outcomes in oral feeding with a relatively low rate of long-term complications. It remains important to follow these patients to monitor the need for secondary reconstructive procedures.

Functional outcomes of mandibular distraction for the relief of severe airway obstruction and feeding difficulties in neonates with Pierre Robin sequence

“…Even though mandibular distraction appears to be a safe procedure in the neonates, reports related to long-term effects are limited. Tibesar et al 27 . retrospectively reviewed and reported open bite deformity (28%), dental complications (16%) and facial nerve injuries (9%) as the leading complications in the long-term period.Our complication rates appear to be comparable with the mentioned previous studies.…”

A clinical narrative review of mandibular distraction osteogenesis in neonates with Pierre Robin sequence

“…Several recent case series have demonstrated the effectiveness of treating upper airway obstruction in neonates with PRS [14,[17][18][19]31]. Majority of patients were able to avoid tracheostomies and those who already had tracheostomies were decannulated successfully.…”

“…Neonatal feeding is very closely related to the health of the neonatal airway and recent studies on distraction osteogenesis have focused on feeding improvements, as well as airway relief, in children with micrognathia [5,[17][18][19]. Overall, micrognathic children managed with distraction have improved outcomes in oral feeding with low rates of long-term complications [17][18][19].…”

“…Overall, micrognathic children managed with distraction have improved outcomes in oral feeding with low rates of long-term complications [17][18][19]. Consequently, many patients can avoid other non-invasive feeding measures, such as nasogastric tubes and invasive interventions such as gastrostomy tubes.…”

“…The process of gradually lengthening the mandible can lead to correcting the posterior tongue base position, which can relieve the pharyngeal airway obstruction. Initially, reports of mandibular advancement during the first few days of life were limited [13,14] but many more studies can be found in the recent literature [6,[15][16][17][18][19][20]. The objective of this clinical narrative review is to discuss the efficacy of distraction osteogenesis in the neonatal patient.…”