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At the fall meeting of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Chicago, Judson R. Belmont, MD, Manchester, NH, presented his experience with the horizontal maxillary osteotomy as an approach to nasopharyngeal and nasal fossa tumors. Preoperatively, all patients received an apical roentgenogram to insure incisions that were high enough so as not to damage the maxillary dentition. The actual osteotomy was performed as previously described in the orthognathic surgery literature, along with a wire closure and six weeks of intermaxillary fixation postoperatively. While it provides wide exposure for tumor extirpation, the procedure is limited by: (1) possible damage to unerupted teeth, (2) possible disruptions in facial growth, and (3) the requirement for intermaxillary fixation and the attendant risk of iatrogenic occlusal abnormalities.