Patients’ experiences after undergoing orthognathic surgery at NHS hospitals in the south west of England

Patients are being increasingly involved in assessing the quality of care that they receive in the NHS. Our aim was to undertake a retrospective postal survey to evaluate their perception of the delivery of orthognathic surgery in the south west of the United Kingdom (UK) using a patient-centred measure. A total of 327 patients (53% response rate) participated. Although most participants (n = 249, 76%) reported that they were well-informed about what to expect during treatment, many reported that the symptoms of pain, swelling, or difficulty in eating that they experienced immediately post-operatively were worse than expected. A third also reported that it took them longer to recover from the operation than they had anticipated. Patients undergoing orthognathic surgery in the south west of the UK need more specific information about what to expect both immediately post-operatively and at home after discharge.