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 mm(3)) than the maxillary-insertion group (7250 mm(3); 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.