PURPOSE: The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the skeletal stability after orthognathic surgery for patients with cleft lip and palate. The soft tissue changes in relation to the skeletal movement were also evaluated. METHODS: Thirty one patients with cleft received orthognathic surgery by one surgeon at the Craniofacial Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Osseous and soft tissue landmarks were localized on lateral cephalograms taken at preoperative (T0), postoperative (T1), and after completion of orthodontic treatment (T2) stages. Surgical movement (T0-T1) and relapse (T1-T2) were measured and compared. RESULTS: Mean anteroposterior horizontal advancement of maxilla at point A was 5.5 mm, and the mean horizontal relapse was 0.5 mm (9.1%). The degree of horizontal relapse was found to be correlated to the extent of maxillary advancement. Mean vertical lengthening of maxilla at point A was 3.2 mm, and the mean vertical relapse was 0.6 mm (18.8%). All cases had maxillary clockwise rotation with a mean of 4.4 degrees. The ratio for horizontal advancement of nasal tip/anterior nasal spine was 0.54/1, and the ratio of A' point/A point was 0.68/1 and 0.69/1 for the upper vermilion/upper incisor tip. CONCLUSION: Satisfactory skeletal stability with an acceptable relapse rate was obtained from this study. High soft tissue to skeletal tissue ratios were obtained. Two-jaw surgery, clockwise rotation, rigid fixation, and alar cinch suture appeared to be the contributing factors for favorable results.
Cleft Lip ; Humans ; Incisor ; Maxilla ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Palate ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine ; Succinates ; Sutures ; Taiwan

PURPOSE: The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the skeletal stability after orthognathic surgery for patients with cleft lip and palate. The soft tissue changes in relation to the skeletal movement were also evaluated. METHODS: Thirty one patients with cleft received orthognathic surgery by one surgeon at the Craniofacial Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Osseous and soft tissue landmarks were localized on lateral cephalograms taken at preoperative (T0), postoperative (T1), and after completion of orthodontic treatment (T2) stages. Surgical movement (T0-T1) and relapse (T1-T2) were measured and compared. RESULTS: Mean anteroposterior horizontal advancement of maxilla at point A was 5.5 mm, and the mean horizontal relapse was 0.5 mm (9.1%). The degree of horizontal relapse was found to be correlated to the extent of maxillary advancement. Mean vertical lengthening of maxilla at point A was 3.2 mm, and the mean vertical relapse was 0.6 mm (18.8%). All cases had maxillary clockwise rotation with a mean of 4.4 degrees. The ratio for horizontal advancement of nasal tip/anterior nasal spine was 0.54/1, and the ratio of A' point/A point was 0.68/1 and 0.69/1 for the upper vermilion/upper incisor tip. CONCLUSION: Satisfactory skeletal stability with an acceptable relapse rate was obtained from this study. High soft tissue to skeletal tissue ratios were obtained. Two-jaw surgery, clockwise rotation, rigid fixation, and alar cinch suture appeared to be the contributing factors for favorable results.
Cleft Lip ; Humans ; Incisor ; Maxilla ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Palate ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine ; Succinates ; Sutures ; Taiwan

Background/Aims: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients who failed antiviral therapy are at increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study assessed the potential role of metformin and statins, medications for diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperlipidemia (HLP), in reducing HCC risk among these patients. Methods: We included CHC patients from the T-COACH study who failed antiviral therapy. We tracked the onset of HCC 1.5 years post-therapy by linking to Taiwan’s cancer registry data from 2003 to 2019. We accounted for death and liver transplantation as competing risks and employed Gray’s cumulative incidence and Cox subdistribution hazards models to analyze HCC development. Results: Out of 2,779 patients, 480 (17.3%) developed HCC post-therapy. DM patients not using metformin had a 51% increased risk of HCC compared to non-DM patients, while HLP patients on statins had a 50% reduced risk compared to those without HLP. The 5-year HCC incidence was significantly higher for metformin non-users (16.5%) versus non-DM patients (11.3%; adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratio [aSHR]=1.51; P=0.007) and metformin users (3.1%; aSHR=1.59; P=0.022). Statin use in HLP patients correlated with a lower HCC risk (3.8%) compared to non-HLP patients (12.5%; aSHR=0.50; P<0.001). Notably, the increased HCC risk associated with non-use of metformin was primarily seen in non-cirrhotic patients, whereas statins decreased HCC risk in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. Conclusions Metformin and statins may have a chemopreventive effect against HCC in CHC patients who failed antiviral therapy. These results support the need for personalized preventive strategies in managing HCC risk.

Background/Aims: Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) plus ribavirin (RBV) for Child-Pugh B/C hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis are limited. Methods: We included 107 patients with Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis receiving SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks in Taiwan. The sustained virologic response rates at off-treatment week 12 (SVR12) for the evaluable population (EP), modified EP, and per-protocol population (PP) were assessed. Thesafety profiles were reported. Results: The SVR12 rates in the EP, modified EP and PP were 89.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82.5–94.2%), 94.1% (95% CI, 87.8–97.3%), and 100% (95% CI, 96.2–100%). Number of patients who failed to achieve SVR12 were attributed to virologic failures. The SVR12 rates were comparable regardless of patient characteristics. One patient discontinued treatment because of adverse events (AEs). Twenty-four patients had serious AEs and six died, but none were related to SOF/VEL or RBV. Among the 96 patients achieving SVR12, 84.4% and 64.6% had improved Child-Pugh and model for endstage liver disease (MELD) scores. Multivariate analysis revealed that a baseline MELD score ≥15 was associated with an improved MELD score of ≥3 (odds ratio, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.16–14.71; P=0.02). Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1 had more significant estimated glomerular filtration rate declines than patients with CKD stage 2 (-0.42 mL/min/1.73 m2/month; P=0.01) or stage 3 (-0.56 mL/min/1.73 m2/month; P<0.001). Conclusions SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks is efficacious and well-tolerated for Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis.

Background/Aims: Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) plus ribavirin (RBV) for Child-Pugh B/C hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis are limited. Methods: We included 107 patients with Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis receiving SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks in Taiwan. The sustained virologic response rates at off-treatment week 12 (SVR12) for the evaluable population (EP), modified EP, and per-protocol population (PP) were assessed. Thesafety profiles were reported. Results: The SVR12 rates in the EP, modified EP and PP were 89.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82.5–94.2%), 94.1% (95% CI, 87.8–97.3%), and 100% (95% CI, 96.2–100%). Number of patients who failed to achieve SVR12 were attributed to virologic failures. The SVR12 rates were comparable regardless of patient characteristics. One patient discontinued treatment because of adverse events (AEs). Twenty-four patients had serious AEs and six died, but none were related to SOF/VEL or RBV. Among the 96 patients achieving SVR12, 84.4% and 64.6% had improved Child-Pugh and model for endstage liver disease (MELD) scores. Multivariate analysis revealed that a baseline MELD score ≥15 was associated with an improved MELD score of ≥3 (odds ratio, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.16–14.71; P=0.02). Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1 had more significant estimated glomerular filtration rate declines than patients with CKD stage 2 (-0.42 mL/min/1.73 m2/month; P=0.01) or stage 3 (-0.56 mL/min/1.73 m2/month; P<0.001). Conclusions SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks is efficacious and well-tolerated for Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis.