Orthognathic Surgery

David Y. Khechoyan, MD

Orthognathic surgery is a unique endeavor in facial surgery: Both facial appearance and occlusal function can be improved to enhance a patient's sense of well-being. In today's orthognathic surgery practice, a close collaboration between the surgeon and the orthodontist—with careful treatment planning—leads to predictable and reproducible surgical outcomes. Standard orthognathic procedures, such as a Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy and bilateral sagittal splitting of the mandible, may be combined with adjunctive procedures to correct hard and soft tissue contours. Virtual planning of the operation and operative steps allows for more exact preoperative preparation, as well as for more thorough and interactive preoperative patient education.

In this issue of the Seminars in Plastic Surgery, the authors have written a series of articles detailing the techniques and principles of orthognathic surgery to reposition the maxilla, mandible, and chin. We have also included an article on preoperative orthodontic preparation, analysis of dentofacial deformity, and postoperative finalization of occlusion.

I would like to thank Dr. Larry H. Hollier, Jr., Editor-in-Chief of Seminars in Plastic Surgery, for the tremendous opportunity to share with the readers our approach to orthognathic surgery. I would also like to recognize my colleagues and co-authors for their insightful and highly illuminating contributions to this issue. Dr. Edward Buchanan, Dr. Edward Lee, Dr. Laura Monson, and Dr. John Wirthlin worked tirelessly to prepare relevant and current articles encompassing the entire spectrum of orthognathic surgery practice. I am confident that the reader of this issue will stand to benefit from the authors' expertise and unique insights.