The term "maxillofacial" refers to the two-thirds of the face below the eyes. Thus maxillofacial surgery is a type of specialty reconstructive surgery used to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, defects, and/or injuries of the face, head, neck, and jaws. The most common types of surgeries include repair of facial defects from birth such as a cleft clip and abnormalities of the jaw, but maxillofacial surgery can also be the solution to correcting uneven problems of the face and other rare abnormalities.
Candidates for maxillofacial surgery include all ages of people – from infancy to the elderly – who have been affected by birth defects, facial injuries, uneven jaws or receding chins.
Because each defect/abnormality is unique, there are different kinds of reconstructive surgeries to correct these various conditions.
