Surgical-orthodontic treatment of a case of hemifacial microsomia

Only fifty cases of hemifacial microsomia have been reported in the literature, although the condition is not considered rare. Since 1940 there has been no report of surgical-orthodontic treatment of a patient with this condition, possibly because the outcome is thought to be hopeless. In the case reported here, a surgical-orthodontic team, working in close cooperation, demonstrated the effectiveness of teamwork in improving the occlusion and appearance of a girl with congenital absence of the condyloid process.