Postoperative stability of bioresorbable plates made of 85:15 poly (L-lactide-co-glycolide) in Le Fort I osteotomy

Objective: Recently, RapidSorb plates (DePuy Synthes) made of 85.15 poly (L-lactide-co-glycolide) have been used for orthognathic surgery; however, reports regarding their effectiveness are limited. We aimed to compare the postoperative stability of RapidSorb plates, RapidSorb combined with titanium (MOJ plates), and MOJ plates in patients who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital.

Study design: The use of RapidSorb in the maxilla is a load-sharing application and therefore constitutes an approved indication. Discrepancies in the maxillary positions were measured using postoperative computed tomography data at 1 week and 1 year using the centroid method 3-dimensionally. Treatment with RapidSorb alone showed a more vertical discrepancy in the maxilla treatment with MOJ and RapidSorb+MOJ. The RapidSorb4 group was subdivided into 2 groups (under and over 1.0-mm) based on the change in the maxillary centroid.

Results: The bone gap at the lateral border of the piriform aperture was significantly larger in the over-1.0-mm group than in the 1.0-mm group.

Conclusions: The fixation of RapidSorb alone is not appropriate in load-bearing and unstable applications but is not contraindicated for load-sharing indications. Fixation with RapidSorb combined with MOJ was clinically effective, with results similar to titanium plate-only fixation regarding postoperative stability.