Orthognathic Surgery

Orthognathic surgery, also known as corrective jaw surgery, is surgery designed to correct conditions of the jaw and lower face related to structure and growth, including airway issues such as sleep apnea, temporomandibular joint disorders, and malocclusion and other dental bite problems arising from skeletal disharmonies that cannot easily be treated with braces alone, as well as facial imbalances and asymmetries whose correction can improve facial aesthetics. The field's origins lie in oral surgery and the removal of impacted or displaced teeth to support orthodontic treatment of malocclusion and crowding, with one of the first published cases performed by Dr. Simon P. Hullihen in 1849; the term was later popularized in Germany and, most famously, by Hugo Obwegeser, who developed the bilateral sagittal split osteotomy. The surgery, typically performed through the mouth, involves cutting, moving and realigning the jaw bone, and either the upper jaw, the lower jaw or both are operated on to align the dental arches into a working bite, working in coordination with orthodontists; it is also used to treat congenital conditions such as cleft palate. More recently, as oral and maxillofacial surgery has established itself as a primary medical specialty, orthognathic surgery has increasingly become a primary treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and for facial proportion and symmetry correction in their own right, rather than only a procedure supporting orthodontic goals.