Management of Medical Comorbidities in Maxillofacial Surgery

Abstract

AbstractOral and Maxillofacial surgery, like any surgical specialty, has two vital requirements. First, having the right armamentarium, and, second, acquiring appropriate skills and knowledge of the patients’ disease process, including comorbidities. With the changing demographic in India, the profile of Indian patient has undergone a sea change in the last few decades. From acute conditions that had little impact on subsequent health of the patient, we have arrived at a scenario where a large proportion of patients present with chronic disorders like diabetes, ischemic heart diseases, etc. that affect many elective procedures we undertake and require optimization of the overall physical status of the patient before proceeding with any surgery.Trainee surgeons need to be aware and updated and should be able to recognize, treat, or appropriately refer patients to the requisite specialty in case of complex conditions beyond their remit or ability. In this chapter, readers will get a very brief overview of the different organ systems that play crucial role in homeostasis and how to modify the treatment when there’s an imbalance in either of these systems.