Le Fort I Osteotomy
Pronunciation: luh FOR wun os-tee-OT-oh-mee
A horizontal surgical cut through the maxilla above the tooth apices, allowing the tooth-bearing maxillary segment to be repositioned in three dimensions.
Full Definition
The Le Fort I osteotomy is the standard procedure for correcting maxillary position in cases of skeletal malocclusion, cleft palate deformity, or midface deficiency. It separates the lower maxilla from the upper by cuts through the lateral and medial walls, the nasal septum, and the pterygomaxillary junctions. In oral surgery documentation, the numeral is always written as a Roman numeral 'I' (not Arabic '1'), and 'Le Fort' retains its French spacing and capitalisation. The procedure must be clearly distinguished from Le Fort II and Le Fort III osteotomies, which involve progressively higher midfacial cuts. Editors must ensure consistent numeral style and level specification across pre-operative planning, consent, and operative reports.
Usage
Usage note: Always use Roman numerals: Le Fort I, II, III. Do not write 'Lefort' as one word. Distinguish surgical osteotomies from Le Fort fracture classifications, which use the same nomenclature but describe trauma patterns.
In Context
- "The combined Le Fort I osteotomy and bilateral sagittal split osteotomy was planned to correct the patient's skeletal class III malocclusion." — Pre-surgical planning letter
- "An editor flagged the inconsistent use of 'Le Fort 1' (Arabic) and 'Le Fort I' (Roman) within the same operative report and standardized to the correct Roman numeral throughout." — Operative report copyedit