Day case orthognathic surgery
Reviewed by Stuart Clark

This paper analyses whether patient safety is maintained when orthognathic surgery is performed as an outpatient. This Swedish paper reviewed 165 patients, 107 of whom were to have what was termed outpatient care, and of which 101 (94%) were able to leave hospital on the day of surgery as planned. Six patients required an inpatient overnight hospital admission. There is found to be no significant difference between the inpatient and outpatient group in terms of complications. Out with, there is a 2.5 times greater risk of developing a postoperative infection for those patients in an outpatient setting compared with an inpatient. There was little difference in the operating time between the two groups, both with a mean of approximately two hours. This paper provides further evidence of the suitability of day case orthognathic surgery in a selective population, acknowledging the availability for inpatient admission in approximately 5% of cases.

Patient safety with orthognathic surgery in an outpatient setting.
Pekkari C, Weiner CK, Marcusson A, et al.
INT J ORAL MAXILLOFAC SURG
2023;52(7)806-12.