Craniofacial surgery

Craniofacial surgery is a surgical subspecialty of both plastic surgery and oral and maxillofacial surgery that deals with congenital and acquired deformities of the skull, face, and jaws. Although craniofacial treatment often involves manipulation of bone, craniofacial surgery is not tissue-specific, i.e., craniofacial surgeons deal with bone, skin, muscle, teeth, etc. Craniofacial surgery does not, however, include surgery of the brain or eye.

Defects typically treated by craniofacial surgeons include craniosynostosis (isolated and syndromic), rare craniofacial clefts, acute and chronic sequellae of facial fractures, cleft lip and palate, micrognathia, Treacher Collins Syndrome, Apert's Syndrome, Crouzon's Syndrome, hemifacial microsomia and many others.

Training in craniofacial surgery usually consists of a 1-year surgical fellowship completed after a residency in either plastic surgery or oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Ethical considerations
The Hastings Center, a prominent bioethics research institute, conducted a project called "Surgically Shaping Children". The project produced an edited volume (Parens, 2006) which considers reconstructive surgery on children with craniofacial anomalies, ambiguous genitalia, and achondroplasia.