Evaluation of the Craniomaxillofacial Deformity Patient

Abstract

Few procedures are more challenging than the surgical repair of patients with craniomaxillofacial deformities. These deformities are the end results of the effects of trauma, cancer, infection, or congenital anomalies. Experience has shown us that these defects involve both bone and overlying soft tissue. Regardless of the etiology, surgeons must direct their repair toward the correction of the aesthetic defect with the restoration of function. When treating patients who have undergone tumor resection or suffered severe facial trauma, both the surgeon and the patient must understand that the patient most likely will never function or appear as they did prior to their trauma or tumor surgery. Unlike those with facial trauma and maxillofacial tumors, patients who suffer congenital defects are able, for the most part, to have their facial aesthetics and function improved over their preoperative state. Craniomaxillofacial defects are the direct response to trauma, disease, development, and/or the undesirable response to treatment or nontreatment. Undesirable postsurgical results can arise when fractures are misdiagnosed, unrecognized, or the initial surgical treatment is inadequate. When concurrent life-threatening complications interfere with or cause the delay of proper initial treatment, less than optimal results may also occur. No matter how subtle a deformity is, it will more than likely be quite obvious when involving the craniomaxillofacial region.