Posterior airway changes associated with mandibular advancement surgery: implications for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is caused by loss of tone in the pharyngeal muscles. Bilateral sagittal ramus osteotomy has occasionally been used to treat this syndrome. To determine if postsurgical changes in posterior airway space are predictable, the posterior airway space in 25 patients who did not have obstructive sleep apnea was measured before and after surgery. Analysis revealed that the posterior airway space usually increased after advancement of the mandible, but the changes were varied. Therefore, the procedure may be helpful in some patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and may obviate the need for tracheostomy, but success cannot be guaranteed.