THREE DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF CONDYLAR POSITION IN ORTHOGNATHIC SURGERY:STUDY GROUP OF 38 PATIENTS

In our study we wished to investigate 3D variations in the condylar position in a group of patients who had undergone orthognathic surgery involving the saggital bilateral osteotomy of the mandibular rami, combining the capability of the cone-beam with software able to generate a 3D cephalometry. Ol all parameters considered, only the angulation of the right condyle with respect to the median saggital plane and to a lesser degree, its transversal position, showed any significant variation between pre and postsurgery. For alle the other variables the changes were negligible: less than a millimeter for linear distances or less than a degree for angular mesures. In patients who underwent an osteotomy of the mandibular rami for the correction of a dentofacial dysmorphism , and who didn't present dysfunction of the temporomandibular joints, the manual intraoperator monitoring of the proximal segments of the osteotomy was able to mantain the condyle in the presurgical position.