Maxillomandibular advancement for obstructive sleep apnea.

Although nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy is considered the first-line treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, surgery has been shown to be a valid option for patients who are intolerant to positive pressure therapy. In the past 20 years, maxillomandibular advancement has been widely accepted as the most effective surgical therapy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Maxillomandibular advancement has been shown to enlarge the pharyngeal and hypopharyngeal airway by physically expanding the facial skeletal framework. It has also been shown that the forward movement of the maxillomandibular complex increases tissue tension. This decreases the collapsibility of the velopharyngeal and suprahyoid musculature and improves lateral pharyngeal wall collapse, all of which have been shown to be significant components contributing to the upper airway obstruction in obstructive sleep apnea. The outcome of maxillomandibular advancement has been extensively reported, with success rates of 57% to 100%. A recent meta-analysis of 627 patients from 22 studies showed an overall success rate of 86%. The long-term follow-up of 56 patients for 43.7 months from 3 studies showed a surgical success rate of 89%. These data are similar to my experience with an 89% success rate in more than 600 maxillomandibular advancement procedures performed.