%0 Journal Article
%T The use of biodegradable osteosynthesis materials in orthognathic surgery
%A Aris Ntomouchtsis
%A Lampros Zouloumis
%A Maria Lazaridou
%A Nikolaos Topouzelis
%A Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos
%A Nikolaos Lazaridis
%J Hellenic Archives of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
%D 2010
%I Hellenic Association for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
%X Bioadegradable osteosynthesis materials are an alternative solution to titanium material that have been used for many decades. Their introduction into Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was gradual, and now they are also used in osteotomies. Patients - methods: Representative cases of patients who underwent osteotomies, in which osteosynthesis was achieved by means of bioabsorbable material are presented. Results: Depending on their individual preoperative planning, patients underwent the following operations: typical LeFort I maxillary osteotomy, mandibular sagittal split osteotomy and horizontal genioplasty to correct progenism. In 3 of these 4 cases, no complications were reported in the immediate postoperative period. In one case of bimaxillary osteotomy, the bioabsorbable material was fractured at the LeFort I osteotomy line. That patient underwent a second operation, and the bioabsorbable devices were replaced by titanium plates. Conclusions: It can be said that, after their introduction into craniofacial traumatology, biodegradable materials claim their share in orthognathic surgery as well. In certain cases of orthognathic osteotomies and following instructions for their use, bioabsorbable osteosynthesis material can produce significant benefits for patients, without sacrificing preoperative orthognathic planning.
%K Orthognathic surgery
%K absorbable materials
%K complications
%U http://www.haoms.org/haomsjournal/2010teuxos_3_article_2.pdf