Craniofacial Surgery

Craniofacial surgery is a surgical subspecialty devoted to congenital and acquired deformities of the head, skull, face, neck, jaws, and the structures around them. Although the field often involves reshaping bone, craniofacial surgeons also work with skin, nerve, muscle, and teeth as needed to treat conditions such as craniosynostosis, rare craniofacial clefts, the aftermath of facial fractures, cleft lip and palate, micrognathia, Treacher Collins syndrome, Apert syndrome, Crouzon syndrome, craniofacial microsomia, and microtia. Surgeons enter the field after completing a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, or ear, nose, and throat surgery, followed by a dedicated craniofacial surgery fellowship, and dedicated cleft and craniofacial centers exist at many major academic medical centers.