Introduction: Surgical treatment of OSAS can be performed in different anatomical regions depending on the level of obstruction. According to this, patients may undergo surgical procedures at the same stage in nasal tissues, retropalatal and retrolingual regions. In addition a maxillomandibular advancement can also be accomplished.

One of these surgical procedures is the genioglossus muscle advancement, either combined with uvulopalatopharingoplasty or as a single procedure, which goal is enlargement of the retrolingual region. This classic technique however, prevents the possibility to perform a simultaneous genioplasty in patients with a deficient chin in order to improve patient’s profile. On the other hand, a genioplasty allows only a moderate advancement of the genioglossus muscle.

Objective: The following paper describes a technique that allows performing advancement of the genioglossus muscle and simultaneously a genioplasty.

Materials and methods: Patients treated at the Sleep Unit, Hospital del Trabajador, Santiago, Chile with the Powell-Riley phase I protocol. The features, advantages and disadvantages of this modification to the original technique are discussed.

Results: A total of 21 patients surgically treated with the Powell-Riley phase I protocol were studied. Nine of the 21 patients underwent a simultaneous genioglossus muscle advancement and genioplasty. The amount of muscle advancement is greatly increased with this technique. In addition the facial profile is improved in patients with a deficiency of the chin.

Conclusion: This modification to the Powell-Riley phase I technique of genioglossus muscle advancement has achieved promising results from both functional and aesthetic stand point.

Conflict of interest: None declared.