Advances in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (Jul 2021)
A cross-sectional study of physical and psychosocial expectations of orthognathic surgery patients based on their typology
Abstract
Aims: Orthognathic surgery corrects craniofacial and dentofacial disproportion that compromises breathing, masticatory function, and aesthetics. A patient's typology influences their psychosocial and physical pre-operative expectations and post-operative perceptions and is an emerging area of research. This study aims to evaluate subjective expectations and/or perceived outcomes of orthognathic surgery; and whether orthognathic surgery meets patient expectations. Method: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was administered pre- and post-operatively. Typologically, patients were classified as metamorphosisers – those with high expectation of psychosocial and physical transformation; evolvers – opposite of metamorphosisers; pragmatists – those with low expectation of psychosocial and high expectation of physical transformation; or shedders – the opposite of pragmatists. A Chi-Square goodness fit test with p < .01 considered significant was used to evaluate whether orthognathic surgery met patient expectations. Results: A total of 27 patients consisting of 19 pre- and 8 post-operative groups completed the survey over an 11-month study period. Metamorphosisers numerically dominated in both pre- and post-operative groups, indicating that most patients in this study had high expectations and high perceptions of psychosocial and physical transformation after orthognathic surgery. Chi-Squared testing showed statistical significance for psychosocial transformation (X2 pre-operative group = 46.3; X2 post-operative group = 67.4) and physical transformation (X2 pre-operative group = 78.4; X2 post-operative group = 32.1), p = .000001 respectively. Conclusions: Most patients had high expectations of physical and psychosocial transformation following orthognathic surgery. Treatment outcomes met these expectations. Patient typology can help orthognathic teams understand and manage these expectations.
