Custom-made intraoral mandibular distraction as treatment for neonatal airway obstruction

Hypoplastic mandible related airway obstruction therapy may vary from non-surgical to surgical, depending on the severity of the obstruction. Since its introduction in 1992, distraction osteogenesis (DO) has been used to lengthen the mandible. A new intraoral device is presented here. It has no need of screw fixation, whilst placement and activation are intraoral, leading to simple placement and removal. Seven cases with hypoplastic mandible related airway obstruction were treated between 2001 and 2008 with intraoral DO at the authors’ institution. Six patients had a tracheostomy and one received continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). After the distraction phase, five patients could be decanulated and in one case CPAP was no longer required. In one case the desired effect was not achieved. The findings suggest that early mandibular DO leads to damage to the permanent tooth buds resulting in missing teeth. The effectiveness of mandibular DO regarding early discharge of the patient is shown, leading to an overall cost reduction. Knowledge of alternative modalities such as mandibular DO in case of hypoplastic mandible related airway obstruction in neonatal healthcare should lead to early referral to a dedicated maxillofacial surgeon, possibly avoiding long-term airway support or tracheotomy.