Postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment stabilized by titanium miniplate osteosynthesis following Le Fort I osteotomy: an x-ray stereometric study.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether titanium miniplate fixation prevents postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment following Le Fort I osteotomy and, if not, to evaluate whether postoperative migration varies with the direction and amount of surgical repositioning. In 10 consecutive patients who received Le Fort I osteotomies, postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment was studied in a three-dimensional system by means of x-ray stereometry. Surgical repositioning was recorded by cephalometry in lateral head films obtained before surgery and at 2 days postoperatively. X-ray stereograms were obtained at intervals from 2 days to 1 year after surgery. During the 1-year observation period, significant postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment was found at some stage in nine patients. No correlation between the amount of surgical repositioning and postoperative migration was found. However, a tendency toward superiorly directed postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment, independent of the direction of surgical repositioning, was observed. It is thus concluded that titanium miniplates do not prevent postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment. The weak correlation between the amount of surgical repositioning and postoperative migration of the osteotomy segment indicates that predictions of individual outcomes of surgical corrections are uncertain.