A total of 23 patients (15 females and 8 males; mean age, 33 years) with symptoms of respiratory disease (mouth breathing) were studied. The patients were subjected to computed tomography analyses at two time intervals: T1 (preoperatively) and T2 (postoperative minimum of 6 months). The computed tomography images were exported to Dolphin Imaging 11.5 software to measure the surface area, minimum axial area, and volume of the SAS.
The surgery (including a median mandibular advancement of 14 mm with an average rotation of 8 degrees) significantly increased the static SAS, with mean postoperative increases of 178 mm2 in SA, 76.67 mm2 in minimum axial area, and 10118.5 mm3 in volume. A significant increase was also observed in the three-dimensional airspace following orthognathic surgery, which provided a greater permeability of the SAS in Class II patients.
This confirmed the efficacy of this technique in the treatment of respiratory disorders.