Photographic Changes in the Alar Base Width in Using Modified Alar Cinch Technique Following Lefort I Osteotomy: A Narrative Review

Introduction: The alar cinch techniques are used in order to control the alar base widening following Le Fort I surgeries. Three main alar cinch techniques include classic, Shams-Kalantar and modified techniques. There is scarcity of scientific literature regarding the modified technique therefore, this review was conducted to assess the photographic changes in the alar base width following Lefort I osteotomy using the modified Cinch technique.

Methods: Literature search was performed using the “Modified”, “alar base”, “Lefort I osteotomy” keywords in the Web od Science, PubMed and Scopus databases. Articles published between 2010 till Jun 2019 were included in the study. Identified articles were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria by two researchers independently and the identified articles were discussed afterwards.

Results: The search yielded 7 articles in English language. The findings of all the included studies revealed that the modified technique was as effective as the classic and Shams-Kalantar techniques. Furthermore, it was reported that the modified technique was more effective in controlling the alar base width in case of alar base flaring.

Conclusion: The findings of this review revealed that the modified cinch technique was more effective compared to other techniques. In conclusion, the advantages of the modified technique including better control of the alar base width and improved patient satisfaction following orthognathic surgery out power its disadvantages.