Maxillary sinus haziness and facial swelling following suction drainage in the maxilla after orthognathic surgery

Background We investigated the efficacy of a maxillary Jackson-Pratt (J-P) suction drain for preventing maxillary sinus hematoma and facial swelling after maxillary Le Fort I osteotomy (LF1). Methods We retrospectively evaluated 66 patients who underwent LF1 at a single institution. Of these, 41 had a J-P suction tube inserted in the mandible and maxilla (maxillary insertion), and 25 had a J-P drain inserted in the mandible only (no maxillary insertion). Facial CT was obtained before and 4 days after surgery. We compared mean midfacial swelling and maxillary sinus haziness by t test and examined correlations between bleeding amount and body mass index (BMI). Results For the maxillary-insertion group, the ratio of total maxillary sinus volume to haziness (57.5 ± 24.2%) was significantly lower than in the group without maxillary drain insertion (65.5% ± 20.3; P = .043). This latter group, however, did not have a significantly greater midfacial soft tissue volume (7575 mm3) than the maxillary-insertion group (7250 mm3; P = .728). BMI did not correlate significantly with bleeding amount or facial swelling. Conclusions Suction drainage in the maxilla reduced maxillary sinus haziness after orthognathic surgery but did not significantly reduce midfacial swelling.