INTRODUCTION: The treatment of adult transverse maxillary deficiency is the surgically assisted maxillary expansion. Several surgical techniques have been described for this and complications have been related to these procedures. OBJECTIVE: the aim of this study was evaluate the incidence of complications associated with surgically assisted maxillary expansion. MATERIAL AND METHOD: 33 individuals undergone surgically assisted maxillary expansion by subtotal Le Fort I osteotomy with a step in the zygomatic-maxillary buttress and associated to pterigomaxillary disjunction and osteotomy of intermaxillary suture. Operative complications, post-operative complications and the distance between the upper teeth were recorded. RESULT: 12 men and 21 women with an average age of 24.64 years undergone the procedure. The interdental distances increased from preoperative to 2 months post-operative time. The prevalent complications were sinusitis (6%) and teeth displacement and inclination (6%). CONCLUSION: Surgically assisted maxillary expansion is an effective and low morbidity procedure to treat transverse maxillary deficiency in adults.
Palatal expansion; osteotomy; postoperative complication