A Study of Left-right Differences in Mandibular Canal Length and Volume in Hemifacial Microsomia

Abstract

  This study compared the mandibular canal length and volume on the left and right sides in patients with hemifacial microsomia (HFM). This retrospective study included 23 patients classified according to the Pruzansky classification. The mandible and mandibular canal were reconstructed using cone-beam computed tomography images. Mandibular canal length, body volume, and ramus volume ratios (affected/normal side) were calculated using the normal side of each patient as the control. Within the same grade, the correlations between the mandibular canal length and body volume ratios and that between the mandibular canal length and ramus volume ratios were confirmed. We analyzed the differences in the mean mandibular canal length, body volume, and ramus volume ratios between the grades. Within the same grade, a significant positive correlation was found between the mandibular canal length and body volume ratios in patients with grade II HFM. Significant differences were observed between grades I and II, with grade I showing larger average ratios. This study showed a correlation between the mandibular canal length and body volume on the affected side in patients with Pruzansky grade II HFM and that the mandibular volume and canal length on the affected side decreased with increasing Pruzansky grade.