The “Catch 22 Zone”: A Case Study

In my classes, I often make referral to “catch 22” patients. These patients normally fall between ages 8.6 and 9.6 years of age. Do you treat these types of patients as a phase I or accept that their case may extend longer, begin as phase I, and explain to parents that the child will most likely extend into a phase II. Let me present the following patient as my example. The patient entered my in-office course (the Premiere – Level 1B) in March 2009. He is Caucasian and was 8.9 at time of diagnostic work up. He had no dental caries present or medical issues per health history. He did however definitely have an airway compromise issue (Figs. 1, 2, & 3).