The scientific development of maxillofacial surgery in the 20th century and an outlook into the future

Maxillofacial surgery is a relatively young speciality of medicine and it w as not established as an organized specialty until the second half of the 2 0th century, At first it was supported by general surgeons with particular interest in this field, and also by inspired, extremely talented dentists. During the past few years modern techniques have brought decisive progress also in maxillofacial surgery, leading to rapid further development of diag nostic and therapeutic possibilities. The development of our specialty in t he past century is discussed on the four main points of our scope, traumato logy, orthognathic, cleft and tumour surgery. Considering the future prospects of our specialty one should realize that i n the near future maxillofacial surgery will also be influenced by further medical-technical progress in the field of micro-robots, by percutaneous en doscopic techniques and by minimal invasive or laser surgery. Basic research will also cause a more profound change in our specialty, esp ecially in the field of tumour therapy. Molecular biological research shows some good signs, which could already be transmitted to the prevention, dia gnosis and also the therapy of tumours, In the field of tissue transplantat ion it is no longer utopia that autogenous tissue sampling can be almost co mpletely be avoided. By further developing 'tissue engineering' it will be possible to cultivate bones as well as soft tissue with the aid of gene tec hnology and transplant them into the face using relevant carrier substances . Altogether, the complexity of maxillofacial surgery in the coming century will increase, necessitating the best and widely trained maxillofacial sur geons for successful accomplishment. (C) 2001 European Association for Cran io-Maxillofacial Surgery.