What is orthognathic surgery?
Orthognathic surgery corrects the dentofacial alterations that patients present. The occlusion problems that cannot be solved by orthodontists can be solved by us by mobilizing the maxillary bone and the mandible, sometimes the chin, and in this way we will correct two issues: the bite problem and the esthetic-functional problem that the patients may have. We also operate more and more patients who have the problem of sleep apnea, that their airway is narrow, they are snorers and even during the night they stop, so mobilizing the jaws will allow us to correct this problem, we will increase the airway, we will change the position and we will give more facial aesthetics to the patients and we will correct the occlusion.
What deformities can be treated with orthognathic surgery?
We mainly treat sleep apnea problems, airway obstruction. We treat facial asymmetries, patients who have an asymmetrical face, we treat patients who have a very advanced jaw and who cannot position their teeth properly, and we treat patients who have their jaw very far back and who have what is called a bird face. The prognathus, the bird-faced, the asymmetric and the snorer are the four patients in principle that are part of our fundamental objective of treatment with orthognathic surgery.
How is the intervention planned?
We are currently planning the procedure using three-dimensional technology. Through the patient’s photographs and the patient’s scanner we are going to be able to operate, to make the changes needed both from the functional and esthetic point of view, in a computer program, and this is going to affect the surgery in such a way that we are going to have many fewer complications, the surgery is going to be easier and we are going to have it perfectly planned.
What kind of scars are left, what is the postoperative period like?
Orthognathic surgeries are all performed inside the mouth and therefore we do not have any external scars. The postoperative period has improved a lot due to the three-dimensional planning and the advances we have in anesthesiology, so the patient can return home after two or three days without any problem and without great inflammation.