Prospective analysis of antibiotic prophylaxis for orthognathic surgery.

A randomized prospective study of 30 patients was undertaken to evaluate antibiotic prophylaxis for orthognathic surgery. Perioperative, high-dosage antibiotic administration was compared to an existing prophylactic regimen employing longer intervals and continued postoperative antibiotics for 7 to 10 days. No significant difference was found between the two groups with respect to incidence of infection. Other variables studied included gender and age of patients, type of surgery performed, procedure length, and use of fixation.