COMPLICATIONS OF ORTHOGNATHIC SURGERY

Orthognathic surgery is a process in which dentofacial deformities and malocclusions are corrected with orthodontics and surgical operations of the facial skeleton, sometimes combined with various soft tissue procedures. Orthognathic correction of dentofacial and craniofacial deformities has come a long way since its invention at the end of the 19th century. Tremendous advances and modifications in the area of orthognathic surgery for the treatment of dentofacial deformities have been made since the 1970s. Complications in the clinical context are adverse unplanned events that result in increased morbidity of a clinical procedure above and beyond what one would expect under normal circumstances. The complications of orthognathic surgery occurring either preoperatively, intraoperatively, or postoperatively may have a very detrimental effect on the overall surgical outcome for the patient.