Background: One of the arguments against early intervention for micrognathia in Pierre Robin sequence is the concept that the growth of the mandible will eventually "catch up." Long-term growth of the mandible and occlusal relationships of conservatively managed Pierre Robin sequence patients remain unknown. In this study, the authors evaluated the orthognathic surgery requirements for Pierre Robin sequence patients at skeletal maturity.
Methods: Orthognathic surgical requirements of conservatively managed Pierre Robin sequence and isolated cleft patients (aged ≥13 years) at two institutions were reviewed and analyzed using t test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. Values of p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results: Of the Pierre Robin sequence patients (n = 64; mean age ± SD, 17.9 ± 2.9 years), 65.6 percent were syndromic (primarily Stickler and velocardiofacial syndrome), 96.9 percent had a cleft palate, and 39.1 percent required orthognathic surgery at skeletal maturity. Nonsyndromic and syndromic Pierre Robin sequence patients demonstrated no differences in occlusal relationships or mandibular surgery frequency. The majority of Pierre Robin sequence patients requiring mandibular advancement had a class II occlusion. Comparison of Pierre Robin sequence patients to isolated cleft palate patients (n = 17) revealed a comparable frequency of orthognathic surgery between the two; however, Pierre Robin sequence patients did require mandibular advancement surgery at a greater frequency than cleft palate patients (p = 0.006).
Conclusions: The present study found that 39.1 percent of conservatively managed Pierre Robin sequence patients required orthognathic surgery at skeletal maturity, of which the vast majority required mandibular advancement for class II malocclusion. These data suggest that mandibular micrognathia in conservatively managed Pierre Robin sequence patients may not resolve over time and may require surgical intervention.
Clinical question/level of evidence: Risk, II.