Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and postoperative complications after orthognathic surgery.

Symptoms of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) presenting immediately after surgery have lately been regarded as potential warnings of impending postoperative complications and multiple organ failure. Reports discussing the relationship between operative stress and SIRS are found in the field of digestive surgery, but not in that of oral surgery. Sixty-five patients with jaw deformity who had undergone maxillary and mandibular orthognathic surgery (Le Fort I osteotomy and sagittal splitting ramus osteotomy) between September 2003 and October 2006 were involved in this study. A search based on the SIRS diagnostic criteria resulted in assignment of 33 cases to the SIRS group and 32 cases to the non-SIRS group. Postoperative complications occurred in 27.3% of the SIRS group and 0.0% of the non-SIRS group (p<0.01). In four cases, a postoperative fluctuation in IL-6 level evaluated. These results suggest the importance of careful management of postoperative SIRS patients in preventing complications.