Patient centeredness in orthognathic surgery

Abstract

Patient centeredness in planning treatment and research has become paramount. The goal of this report was to describe a complex case in which untreated chronic pain was not properly addressed to reflect on the need to establish alternative protocols for controlling chronic orofacial pain. When a female underwent orthognathic surgery to correct her occlusion, she not only ended up with a worse occlusion, she developed chronic orofacial pain that could not be treated by opioids and only improved after the use of neuropathic medication, and finally disappeared after the use of low-level laser therapy. There is a need to incorporate alternative nonpharmacological approaches to manage chronic pain. Further, what the patient’s goals are for their treatments should be given priority in case of elective procedures.