Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS)

About Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS)

Oral and Maxillofacial (OMF) Surgeons specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is a surgical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck. In NHSGGC, the Department of OMFS is a regional service covering NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Ayrshire and Arran as well as the Glasgow population.

OMFS is divided into several subspecialties such as surgical treatment of head and neck cancer, craniofacial deformity, facial soft and hard tissue injuries due to trauma, infections in the head and neck region and, management of pathologies in the mouth and jaws.

OMFS perform operations on an outpatient basis (e.g. pre-implant surgery and placement of dental implants, biopsies) and an inpatient basis. The latter are generally more complex operations and patients need to be admitted. They include operations to:

• Treat complex craniofacial fractures and soft tissue injuries of the mouth, face, and neck.
• Treat infections in the mouth, face and neck areas generally due to complex infection arising from the teeth and/or facial structures.
• Remove cancerous or benign tumours and subsequent reconstructive surgery when required.
• Correct facial disproportion (known as orthognathic surgery), repair of cleft lip and palate, and other congenital facial deformities.
• Remove impacted teeth and complex buried dental roots.
• Remove cysts and tumours of the jaws.
• Treat problems of the temporomandibular joint.
• Cosmetic surgery including face lifts, eyelid and brow surgeries and rhinoplasties.

Referrals into the service typically come from GPs, the Glasgow Dental Hospital or associated specialities such as ENT, Oral Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Neurosurgery. The Department is closely linked to fellow specialities such as the Department of Neurosurgery, the Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Department of Neuroanaesthesia, Department of Neurology, neuropsychology and neurorehabilitation services as part of the Neurosciences and Spinal injuries directorate.

The service has dedicated inpatient operating theatres and outpatient treatment capacity, in-patient, ward access to ITU and HDU as well as all the support services necessary to provide a full maxillofacial service.  In addition, the service is co-located with the children’s hospital and provide cleft and craniofacial services. The imaging service are located on site with excellent facilities and the availability of interventional radiology.  The outpatient department is supported with a comprehensive maxillofacial technical laboratory, a dedicated photography department and 3D imaging facilities.