Early Adverse Events Following Pediatric Mandibular Advancement: Analysis of the ACS NSQIP-Pediatric Database.

Objective: This study aims to assess early adverse events and patient factors associated with complications following mandible distraction osteogenesis (MDO).

Materials And Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric (NSQIP-Pediatric) database, years 2012 to 2019, was queried for patients undergoing mandible advancement via relevant Current Procedural Terminology and postoperative diagnosis codes. Thirty-day adverse events and co-morbidities are assessed.

Results: A total of 208 patients were identified with 17.3% (n = 36) experiencing an adverse event, reoperation (n = 14), and readmission (n = 11) being most common. Patients < 365 days old at the time of operation were more likely to experience an adverse event (26.1% vs 10.8%;  = .005). However, among patients less than 1 year of age, differences in the complication rates between patients  ≤ 28 days and >28 days (30.2% vs 22.2%;  = .47) and those weighing  ≤ 4 kg and >4 kg (31.7% vs 11.5%;  = .063) did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions: Adverse events following mandible advancement are relatively common, though often minor. In our analysis of the NSQIP-Pediatric database, neonatal age ( ≤ 28 days) or weight  ≤ 4 kg did not result in a statistically significant increase in complications among patients less than 1 year of age. Providers should consider early intervention in patients who may benefit from MDO.