PHARYNGEAL AIRWAY VOLUME FOLLOWING ...

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Combined orthodontic-orthognathic surgical treatment
has made it possible to treat skeletal and dental
dysplasias in patients where orthodontics alone cannot
produce a desirable result. By altering the position of
the jaws, the size and shape of the external and internal
surrounding soft tissues are affected, including the
pharyngeal airway, which could influence respiration. This
is of particular importance for patients who suffer from
obstructive sleep apnea. For these patients, surgical
advancement of both the maxilla and mandible is often
performed to intentionally increase the size of the
pharyngeal airway to eliminate or improve symptoms of the
disorder.
Most studies that examine changes in the pharyngeal
airway size utilize lateral cephalograms, which allow 2-
dimensional measurements of a 3-dimensional object.
Measurements are taken of the sagittal, or anteroposterior,
dimension. In order to better understand how the airway is
affected, it is important to study the size and shape of
the entire airway rather than a section or segment of it.
With the development of 3-dimensional imaging, the airway
volume can be examined as a whole. By studying airway
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