Ethos of Facial Surgery

Professional Standards

Our lead clinician, Professor Kaveh Shakib, is a committee member and honorary editor of the British Association of Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS). Giving us insight into a key organisation for facial surgeons.

They set the ethos for maxillofacial surgery, creating positive change throughout the medical and dental fields. This includes the exchange of scientific information and advancing standards of patient care.

Specialist education and research also play a role, in a discipline which has transformed facial treatment within a relatively short time. Taking maxillofacial care from initial necessity to state of the art care.

A Developed Specialty

Techniques developed to treat personnel during two world wars fed into mainstream medicine. The demand led by increasing motor accidents, changing lifestyle activities and healthcare becoming more widely available.

The British Association of Oral Surgeons was created in 1962, to bring specialists together. This became The British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons in 1985, as complex medical and dental treatments merged.

BAOMS led the drive for specialists to be qualified in both fields, a mandatory requirement by 1989. With the addition of further surgical skills, oral & maxillofacial surgery became the ninth national specialty field in 1994.

The recent time frame created an area of medicine which looks to the future, is technically advanced and led by patient needs. The need for rounded care was highlighted by international research and NHS maxillofacial reports.

An Holistic View

Whilst BAOMS, leading UK surgeons and international studies have brought notable advances to the field, one ethical need still surmounts them.

Treatment in the facial area almost always has a multi faceted impact, on function, or appearance. The complexity of outcome should be understood and treatment planned with all the patient’s requirements in mind.

Modern imaging equipment helps with diagnosis, skills ranging from microvascular surgery to jaw realignment help with treatment. They are all vital, yet remain secondary.

The correct ethos for facial surgery is to treat the whole patient, their health, their body, their life. This is an approach we strongly believe in, for the best results and a better life going forward.