Remodelling pattern of the ramus on submentovertex cephalographs after intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy

The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative changes in proximal segments and condyles on the transverse plane after intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy. This is a retrospective study that included 200 subjects operated on, from 2003 to 2010, from whom we compared preoperative and postoperative (7 days, and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months) submentovertex radiographs. Postoperative positional changes in the condyles showed a mean (SD) of 15.05 (8.97)° lateral rotation, which slowly returned towards the original position. However, 4.53 (6.03)° lateral rotation remained on the postoperative radiographs at 1 year. There were no remarkable differences in intercondylar distance at any given time interval, which showed pure rotation of condyles without any bodily shift. The length of horizontal overlapping was also increased after operation, and was later decreased by 48% on postoperative radiographs at 1 year through the remodelling process. Condyles had rotated laterally without a lateral shifting movement only after intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy. Further studies to evaluate the physiological effects of rotational movement of the condyles after the operation in patients with symptoms in the temporomandibular joint are indicated.