Condylar position control during maxillary surgery: the condylar positioning appliance and three-dimensional double splint method.

A new method for positioning the maxilla and condyle after Le Fort I osteotomy maintains the patient's vertical dimension (ie, the relation of the mandible to the skull above the osteotomy plane) in the preoperative and postoperative positions during both cast surgery and actual surgery. During surgery the condylar positioning appliance is fixed to the anterolateral zygoma and the lateral cortex of the mandibular ramus bilaterally to orient the mandible in centric relation. The condylar positioning appliance is used with the three-dimensional double splint method. Two prefabricated splints enable three-dimensional positioning of the maxilla in the fixed mandibular position during surgery. Postoperatively, the mandible can be rotated into the new centric occlusion.