Face Mouth and Jaw Surgery

Maxillofacial plastic Surgery

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a branch of surgery to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries, and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws, and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region.

This includes dealing with tumors/ cancers and cysts of the face, jaw, head, and neck region

TRISMUS- inability to open mouth

Inability to open mouth and painful movement of jaws can be due to a variety of reasons. These can be disorders of the TMJ (jaw joint) or trauma, infection and pathologies such as oral submucous fibrosis.

Submucous fibrosis- a very common condition of reduced mouth opening and burning sensation sometimes due to chewing of tobacco products.

Surgical correction of submucous fibrosis is the best way to permanently treat and manage the condition. Conservative methods using injections and medicines are sometimes useful as well.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons deliver emergency room coverage for facial injuries, which include the following conditions:

• Facial lacerations
• Intra-oral lacerations
• Avulsed (knocked out) teeth
• Fractured facial bones (cheek, nose or eye socket)
• Fractured jaws (upper and lower jaw)

Description
Maxillofacial trauma includes injuries to any of the bony or fleshy structures of the face. Any part of the face may be affected. Teeth may be knocked out or loosened. The eyes and their muscles, nerves, and blood vessels may be injured as well as the eye socket (orbit), which can be fractured by a forceful blow. The lower jaw (mandible) may be dislocated by force. Although anchored by strong muscles for chewing, the jaw is unstable in comparison with other bones and is easily dislocated from the temporomandibular joints that attach it to the skull. A fractured nose or jaw may affect the ability to breathe or eat. Any maxillofacial injury may also prevent the passage of air or be severe enough to cause a concussion or more serious brain damage.

Craniofacial Surgery

Craniofacial surgery is a surgical subspecialty of maxillofacial surgery that deals with congenital and acquired deformities of the skull, face, and jaws bone, skin, muscle, teeth, etc. Craniofacial surgery does not, however, include surgery of the brain or eye.
Typically treated by craniofacial surgeons include craniosynostosis (isolated and syndromic), rare craniofacial clefts, acute and chronic sequellae of facial fractures, cleft lip and palate, micrognathia, Treacher Collins Syndrome, Apert’s Syndrome, Crouzon’s Syndrome, hemifacial microsomia, and many others.

Cleft lip and Palate surgery

Maxillofacial plastic surgery includes correction of lip and palate deformities and rhinoplasties to make cosmetic and functional corrections of the face.