MillenniumPost
Delhi

Maxillofacial surgeries more than just cosmetic now

New Delhi: Having a small face has, for long, been a popular beauty trend to among many women and maxillofacial surgeries are the go-to solution for this purpose.

However, maxillofacial surgeries have now surpassed their exclusively cosmetic purpose and have become a means of restoring physical function among patients who have suffered major facial deformities.

At the dental department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here, nearly 20 cases per week are received for corrective surgery of the jaw, also known as orthognathic surgery.

The entire procedure costs a nominal Rs 10,000 and if patients are covered under the Ayushmaan Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the scheme will pay for the surgery.

Orthognathic surgeries are performed to bring balance to facial bones, and to rectify deformed jaws, to enhance the aesthetics of a person.

"This also enhances self esteem of a person, improves speech, eating and gives confidence in day to day life," said Dr Ajoy Roychoudhury, head of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Centre for Dental Education and Research (CDER), AIIMS.

He explained that this surgery is performed from inside the mouth, with no scars and incisions on face.

"The surgeon makes appropriate cuts in the jaw bones, aligns them to proposed position and fixes them with metal plates and screws.

"Wires or rubber elastics may be applied to the teeth temporarily after the surgery. The patient needs to stay in the hospital for two to five days, depending on the type of surgery," Dr Roychoudhury said.

The final result is immediate, but stable facial appearance may appear four to six weeks after surgery.

The surgery may involve single jaw, anterior or posterior part of jaw, chin region or both the jaw.

"In India, such surgeries are gaining popularity now as many maxillofacial surgeons are performing them at various centres. This is an expensive operation but at AIIMS, it is done almost free of cost.

"The hospital is taking the endeavour to provide jaw deformity correction to even the economically weakest strata of India. The current surgery involves lot of virtual planning 3D printing and precision execution of surgical steps," Dr Roychoudhury added.

To spread awareness of this specialised surgery, AIIMS is conducting a workshop from November 25-26 on the theme of 'Learn-Observe-Perform', which includes lectures, live surgery demonstration and an exclusive hands on bi-jaw surgical simulation surgery exercise on 3D printed tangible model, which will be attended by over 100 budding surgeons.

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