Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) is a craniofacial malformation characterized by micrognathia and glossoptosis, with or without cleft palate. A subset of infants with PRS will suffer from airway obstruction severe enough to merit surgical intervention. Surgeries for PRS include tongue lip adhesion, tracheotomy, gastrostomy, and bilateral mandibular distraction osteogenesis. Distraction osteogenesis refers to a process in which a bone is lengthened after an initial osteotomy by means of separating the two resulting segments slowly over time. In the neonatal mandible, hardware used for distraction may be implanted beneath the skin or affixed externally. Each device has its advantages and disadvantages, however external devices are less expensive, do not typically require preoperative computed tomography scanning, may be adjusted easily throughout the distraction process, and are easily removed following consolidation, avoiding a second invasive procedure and lengthy anesthetic. This video presents the technique of neonatal mandibular distraction osteogenesis using multivector external distractors.
