Massive Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction After Surgically Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion: A Case Report.

Dentofacial deformities have a marked impact on a patient's quality of life. Fortunately, these deformities often can be corrected through orthodontic and surgical treatment. In adults, transverse maxillary discrepancies are often corrected by performing a surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) procedure. This procedure is accompanied by many of the same complications involved in performing a Le Fort I osteotomy. Although major complications from maxillary surgery are uncommon, severe hemorrhage and cerebrovascular accidents are real risks accompanied by serious sequelae. The purpose of this case report is to describe a case in which a patient developed a massive middle cerebral artery infarct after a SARPE procedure. The authors discuss the possible etiology and pathogenesis of the complication. They also aim to remind surgeons of this rare complication to ensure prompt recognition and management to prevent delays in care.

Components of Patient Satisfaction After Orthognathic Surgery.

The purpose of this study was to compare overall patient satisfaction after orthognathic surgery with the following specific categories: appearance, functional ability, general health, sociability, and patient-clinician communication. A 16-question survey was developed and administered to include patients at either 6 or 12 months after orthognathic surgery between June 2013 and June 2014 at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital. The predictor variables included age, sex, type of procedure, medical comorbidities, intra- or postoperative complications, and presence of paresthesia. The outcome variable was patient satisfaction overall and in each category based on a Likert scale (0: not satisfied at all to 5: very satisfied).A total of 37 patients completed the survey and had a high overall rate of satisfaction (100% of responses were 4 or 5 on Likert scale). Overall satisfaction had the highest correlation with appearance (ρ=0.52, P=0.0009) followed by sociability (ρ=0.47, P=0.004), patient-clinician communication (ρ=0.38, P=0.02) functionality (ρ=0.19, P=0.26), and general health (ρ = -0.11, P = 0.51). Patients had high satisfaction scores for orthognathic surgery. Satisfaction with postoperative appearance had the strongest correlation with overall satisfaction.