title: Management of craniofacial neurofibromatosis.
abstract: The problem with neurofibromatosis is that it has always been classified from a pathological point of view. This really does not help when it comes to clinical management. This article presents a classification that relates to the severity of the condition and to its clinical management. In the head and neck area, the important region from the point of view of treatment, is the orbit and its contents. It is possible to classify the neurofibromatosis of the facial area in three grades, and these signify the severity of orbital involvement. This directly relates to the surgical management of these patients. Once this system is adopted, surgical decision-making is relatively easy, although the execution of the management is complex.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Craniofacial and Reconstructive Surgery, Providence Hospital, Southfield, Michigan, USA. ianjackson@juno.com
authors.forename: I T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D019465:Craniofacial Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017253:Neurofibromatoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D016896:Treatment Outcome