[The use of prophylactic antibiotics in oral and maxillofacial surgery]

Cultures of postoperative wounds after head and neck surgery reveal a variety of oropharyngeal anaerobic and aerobic flora, aerobic gram negative rods and fungi. Control clinical trials have shown that preoperative antibacterial prophylaxis reduces the incidence of postoperative wound infections. When an antibiotic is used prophylactically, it must be active against the micro-organisms known to cause the infection which the patient is supposed to be protected from. Antibacterial prophylaxis should begin just before the operation beginning, earlier is unnecessary and beginning later is less effective. It is indicated for a variety of surgical procedures that high risk of wound sepsis, superinfection and the emergence of resistance has not been shown to occur if antibacterial agents are used only "perioperatively".