What area is reconstructed?
The upper jaw and surrounding midface.
Depending on the defect, treatment may involve the palate, cheekbones, eye socket, facial soft tissue, or support for upper teeth.
Reconstructive Surgery • Face
Maxillary / Midface Reconstruction
Maxillary and midface reconstruction rebuilds the upper jaw and nearby facial structures to support functions such as chewing, speaking, and eye protection.
Is this the same as corrective jaw surgery?
Not usually.
Corrective jaw surgery primarily repositions existing jaws to improve alignment. Reconstruction repairs damaged structures or replaces missing bone and tissue, although the procedures can overlap.
Will I need more than one procedure?
Sometimes.
Rebuilding bone and soft tissue, restoring teeth, and refining facial contour may happen in separate stages.
01 · Overview
Rebuilding support in the middle of the face
The maxilla is the upper jaw. It holds the upper teeth and helps form the roof of the mouth, nasal cavity, and floor of the eye socket. Reconstruction is tailored to which structures need support or replacement.
Treatment may aim to restore a stable bite, separate the mouth from the nose, support the eye, and rebuild facial contour. These goals are related, but one operation may not fully address all of them.
Unlike a cosmetic midface lift, reconstruction focuses on damaged, missing, or abnormally developed structures. Corrective jaw surgery mainly changes jaw alignment; your surgeon will explain whether alignment surgery is also part of your reconstruction. [1]
- Main treatment area
- Upper jaw and central face
- Anesthesia
- Usually general anesthesia for major reconstruction
- Care setting
- Often a hospital; admission depends on complexity
- Treatment timeline
- May include staged surgery and dental rehabilitation
Why might several specialists be involved?
A plastic and reconstructive surgeon or oral and maxillofacial surgeon may work with an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, eye specialist, dental prosthesis specialist, and speech or swallowing therapist. The team depends on the structures involved and the reason for reconstruction.
Why might an arm or leg be discussed?
An arm or leg is not the main treatment area. It may be considered as a donor site if healthy tissue is needed to rebuild the face. Removing tissue creates a second surgical site with its own healing needs and possible effects on strength, sensation, or movement.
02 · Concerns & Goals
What reconstruction may address
An injury, tumor removal, a condition present from birth, or previous surgery can change the middle of the face. Your priorities help guide the plan.
Chewing and bite changes
Missing bone, displaced structures, or lost teeth can make it harder to bring the teeth together and chew comfortably.
Speech and swallowing difficulties
An opening between the mouth and nose may affect speech or allow food and liquid to enter the nose.
Eye and cheek support
Damage near the eye socket can change eye position or contribute to double vision. Eye symptoms need dedicated assessment.
Changes in facial shape
Loss of bone or soft tissue can affect symmetry and facial projection. Scars, previous treatment, and tissue health influence what can be rebuilt.
03 · Options
How the approaches differ
These approaches may be combined rather than chosen separately. The best fit depends on the size and location of the defect, tissue health, and your overall condition.
Bone repositioning and fixation
Realigns and stabilizes usable facial bone.
How it worksThe surgeon moves displaced bone into position and may secure it with plates and screws.
May suitSome injuries or deformities where enough healthy bone remains.
Main tradeoffIt cannot replace a large amount of missing bone, and bite changes or hardware problems may require further treatment.
Bone grafting
Adds bone to a selected area.
How it worksBone is placed into the defect to help restore structure. The source and fixation method depend on the plan.
May suitSelected defects with a healthy tissue bed and enough surrounding coverage.
Main tradeoffA graft may not fully heal or may lose volume. Using your own bone also creates a donor site.
Vascularized tissue transfer
Replaces missing tissue with tissue that has its own blood supply.
How it worksA free flap transfers skin, soft tissue, and sometimes bone from another body area; small blood vessels are connected in the face or neck.
May suitLarger or more complex defects, including some previously treated or poorly healing areas.
Main tradeoffThis is a longer operation with close postoperative monitoring, donor-site recovery, and a risk of partial or complete tissue loss.
Local tissue repair and selected implants
Repairs smaller gaps or restores support in specific areas.
How it worksNearby tissue may be moved to close a defect. Selected implants may help restore an eye-socket wall or another contour.
May suitSome limited defects with suitable surrounding tissue.
Main tradeoffAvailable tissue and implant suitability are limited by infection risk, prior radiation, and the structures that need rebuilding.
Some reconstruction includes techniques also used in corrective jaw surgery, such as bone repositioning, grafting, and fixation. Missing tissue or prior cancer treatment can make reconstruction substantially more complex. [1].
Can teeth be replaced during reconstruction?
Sometimes dental treatment is planned alongside reconstruction, but replacement teeth are often added later. Implant placement depends on bone quality, healing, radiation history, and the final bite. Ask whether temporary and permanent dental work are separate stages.
How does radiation affect the plan?
Radiation can reduce tissue blood supply and make healing more difficult. Your team may recommend different tissue sources, additional monitoring, or a different sequence of treatment. Cancer treatment and surveillance remain central to the plan.
04 · Results
What may improve and what may remain
Functional recovery
The goal is useful support, not simply a change in appearance.
- Chewing, speech, swallowing, and eye support may improve to different degrees.
- Dental rehabilitation or speech and swallowing therapy may be needed.
- Some limitations may remain even after successful healing.
Facial shape and sensation
Appearance and sensation change as swelling settles.
- Early swelling can hide the reconstructed contour.
- Scars, numbness, and differences between the two sides may persist.
- A later refinement procedure may be discussed if it offers a worthwhile benefit.
Long-term stability
Reconstruction needs ongoing follow-up.
- The team checks bone healing, tissue health, bite, and any hardware.
- Replacement teeth and prostheses need continuing maintenance.
- Further treatment may be necessary for healing problems, growth, or changes related to the original condition.
Bone healing and final recovery take longer than an initial return to everyday activities. Timelines from routine corrective jaw surgery do not apply to every complex reconstruction. [1]
05 · Recovery
Planning your recovery
Recovery at a glance
- Stay after surgery
- Determined by Your Surgeon
- Initial recovery at home
- Varies by Individual
- Return to desk work
- Varies by Procedure and Work Activity
- Light daily activities
- Based on Individual Recovery
- Strenuous exercise
- Based on Surgeon Clearance
Returning to work does not mean fully healed. Follow your surgeon’s instructions; strenuous activity requires clearance.
Recovery depends on the structures rebuilt, whether tissue was taken from another area, and any additional treatment. Your surgical team's instructions take priority over general timelines.
Step 1 · Day of surgery
Treatment day
After anesthesia, staff monitor breathing, bleeding, pain, and the reconstruction. A free flap requires frequent circulation checks. Temporary drains, feeding support, or airway support may be needed.
Step 2 · First days
Early monitored recovery
Hospital care may focus on tissue blood flow, swelling, nutrition, and safe movement. The length of admission varies substantially with the operation.
Step 3 · Following weeks
Healing at home
Follow-up visits check incisions, any donor site, bite, and nutrition. Food texture, mouth care, and activity limits should follow your individual plan.
Step 4 · Following months or longer
Rehabilitation and later stages
Bone healing, dental treatment, speech or swallowing therapy, and contour assessment may continue well after you resume some daily activities.
Planning everyday activities
ActivityGeneral planning contextWhat affects the plan
Work and schoolPlanning context: Time away may be several weeks or longer after major reconstruction.What affects it: Job demands, fatigue, speech, feeding needs, and additional treatment all affect timing. Returning does not mean healing is complete.
Eating and drinkingPlanning context: Your team sets the safest texture and feeding route. [1]What affects it: Palate repair, jaw fixation, swallowing safety, and dental support determine when chewing can resume.
Exercise and liftingPlanning context: Increase activity only within your team's limits. [1]What affects it: Facial bone healing and a donor site may create different restrictions. Contact sports need specific clearance.
DrivingPlanning context: Resume only when cleared and able to drive safely.What affects it: Sedating medicines, altered vision, limited movement, and donor-site weakness may make driving unsafe.
Ask your surgical team whether compresses are appropriate and exactly how to use them.
Before your procedure
- Review imaging and the proposed reconstruction, including whether the palate or eye socket is involved.
- Share your medical history, previous facial operations, radiation treatment, and any wound-healing problems.
- Provide a complete medicine and supplement list; ask which changes are needed rather than stopping medicines yourself.
- Discuss nicotine use and follow the team's cessation plan to support healing.
- Arrange help at home, transportation, and support for any donor-site limitations.
- Confirm the nutrition, dental, speech, and swallowing plan, including equipment or supplies you may need.
Will my jaws be wired shut?
Not everyone needs this. Plates, screws, elastics, or other fixation may be used. If jaw movement will be restricted, ask for written feeding and emergency instructions before discharge.
How will I clean my mouth?
Mouth care depends on your incisions, palate repair, fixation, and dental work. Your team should explain which areas you can brush, whether a rinse is prescribed, and what to avoid disturbing.
06 · Safety
Risks and what your clinician assesses
Swelling, bruising, soreness, fatigue, and temporary changes in sensation are common after facial surgery. Symptoms should be monitored in context; worsening pain, new vision changes, or trouble breathing are not routine recovery.
Bleeding or infection
Bleeding may require treatment or another operation. Infection can affect incisions, bone, grafts, or hardware.
Delayed healing or tissue loss
Wounds can separate, grafts may not heal, and transferred tissue can lose its blood supply. Flap circulation problems may require urgent surgery.
Bite or bone-healing problems
Bone may heal in an unfavorable position or fail to unite. Bite changes, hardware exposure, or loosening may require further care.
Nerve or eye-related problems
Numbness, pain, or altered sensation can persist. Reconstruction near the eye carries risks of double vision, eye-position changes, and, rarely, serious vision injury.
Persistent functional or donor-site problems
Speech, swallowing, nasal leakage, or facial asymmetry may remain. A donor site can develop scarring, weakness, numbness, or reduced movement.
Anesthesia and general surgical complications
Major surgery carries risks including breathing problems, medication reactions, and blood clots. Your anesthesia team assesses your individual risk.
Discuss these risks and your individual health history with your surgeon. [1]
What your clinician assesses
- The size and location of the defect, including the palate, teeth, nasal cavity, and eye socket
- Tissue blood supply, scarring, infection, and any previous radiation
- Overall health, nutrition, nicotine use, and fitness for anesthesia
- Your priorities, donor-site options, and ability to manage staged rehabilitation
07 · Costs
What makes up the Total Procedure & Care Cost
Compare written estimates for the same planned scope, including reconstruction, donor-site surgery, hospital care, and later dental or revision stages. Insurance coverage and authorization depend on your plan and the reason for treatment.
Surgeon
Surgical care
Surgeon services for the facial reconstruction and any planned donor-site procedure.
Ask your surgeonAsk which specialists and surgical stages are included and how unplanned additional procedures are billed.
Facility
Anesthesia and facility
Anesthesia services, operating-room use, and hospital care.
Ask your surgeonAsk about separate bills, network participation, expected admission, and charges if the stay is longer.
Supplies
Supplies and follow-up
Items and services such as wound supplies, imaging, medicines, follow-up visits, and rehabilitation.
Ask your surgeonConfirm whether dental implants, replacement teeth, an obturator, and speech or swallowing therapy are separate.
TRC
Patient Services
Any separately described care-coordination or administrative support.
Ask TRCAsk whether a fee applies, what it includes, whether it is optional, and whether insurance covers it.
Your written estimate should explain the services included, any separate charges, and payment terms.
08 · Questions
Common questions
Is reconstruction only for cancer treatment?
No. It may also be considered after trauma, for conditions present from birth, or to address damage from infection or previous surgery. The cause affects the timing and technique.
Will I look the way I did before?
Reconstruction aims to restore support and facial balance, but it cannot guarantee your previous appearance. Missing tissue, scars, radiation, and healing all influence the result.
Will the plates need to come out?
Many plates can remain in place. Removal may be considered if they become exposed, infected, painful, or interfere with another treatment.
Can I choose not to have reconstruction?
You can discuss prosthetic treatment, a more limited operation, delayed reconstruction, or no surgery where medically appropriate. Ask what each choice would mean for eating, speech, eye protection, and long-term health.
0 consultation questions in your plan
View in My TRC workspaceMy Aesthetic Plan
Prepare for your consultation
Bring these to help your consultation:
- A shared plan identifying functional priorities, techniques, and possible stages
- Written recovery guidance, nutrition arrangements, and urgent contact information
- A written estimate and clear follow-up, rehabilitation, and dental responsibilities
View My Aesthetic Plan
Choices stay in this visit until saving to your account completes. Nothing is sent to a clinician.
Sources
- [1]Mayo Clinic — Jaw surgeryDistinction between corrective jaw surgery and other reconstruction; jaw repositioning, bone grafting, plates and screws, surgical risks, diet restrictions, and the difference between early recovery and complete bone healing.
- [2]MedlinePlus — Wounds and InjuriesGeneral wound complications, infection concerns, and the need for prompt care for serious bleeding or worsening wounds.
- [3]MedlinePlus — AnesthesiaGeneral anesthesia education, preoperative health assessment, and anesthesia-related risks.
Photographs are illustrative scenes, not patients, staff, facilities or outcomes. This information does not replace a personal assessment by your treating clinician.