Osseous healing of the sagittal ramus osteotomy: a histologic comparison of rigid and nonrigid fixation in Macaca mulatta.

Twenty-three adult female rhesus monkeys underwent advancement of the mandible by the sagittal split ramus osteotomy. Twelve had the proximal and distal segments wired together and underwent 6 weeks of maxillomandibular fixation (MMF). Eleven animals had bicortical bone screws placed between the segments and no postsurgical MMF. The animals were killed at 6 and 12 weeks and the osteotomy sites were prepared for histologic examination. Overall, the results showed that the two groups of animals underwent markedly different patterns of osseous healing. The osteotomy sites in the MMF animals were filled with callus, which then formed bone. In contrast, no callus was found in the majority of the rigid fixation osteotomy sites; direct bony deposition was found instead. The results of this investigation show that, like long bones, the sagittal osteotomy can heal by direct or indirect means depending on the rigidity of the fixation.