Although bimaxillary
surgery enhances
patients'
self-esteem and
mood by improving their facial appearance, surgical outcome assessments for this
procedure are limited. This preliminary study investigated differences in
brain activity on
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during
self-
face evaluation before and after bimaxillary
surgery. Three
patients (1 man and 2
women, age range 20–27 years) underwent fMRI while viewing
self-
face images before and after bimaxillary
surgery for maxillofacial
deformity. The activation in the left
postcentral gyrus, and medial orbital
frontal cortex was significantly great in response to after-
surgery self-
face images compared to before-
surgery images. Our preliminary results may facilitate the development of an objective
measure for
patient satisfaction after
orthognathic surgery including bimaxillary
surgery.