Risk Factors for Post-operative Infection Following Single Piece Osteotomy

The aim of this retrospective study was to identify the significant risk factors that contribute towards postoperative infection in patients recovering from orthognathic surgery.

Retrospective records of 522 patients who underwent orthognathic surgery over 9 year period were evaluated for postoperative infection within 3 months of surgery and after 3 months of surgery. The variables of interest included age, gender, habits like smoking and alcohol consumption and incidence of postoperative infection.

The overall infection rate was 4.60%. Patients who underwent bilateral sagittal split osteotomy to advance the mandible had an infection rate of 10.4%. Statistically significant predictor variables (P < 0.05) included patients who had the smoking habit, and those that received bone grafts in both the time periods.

In conclusion, the occurrence of infection after orthognathic surgery is influenced by multiple factors, among which are the type of osteotomy, smoking habit and bone grafting procedures.