Antibiotic prophylaxis for major maxillocraniofacial surgery.

A shortened prophylactic regimen of antibiotics for maxillofacial and craniofacial surgery is evaluated. Eighty-five patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the type of incision used. Forty-nine patients undergoing intraoral procedures received penicillin perioperatively and were given one postoperative dose (regimen A). Thirty-six patients undergoing extraoral or combined intraoral and extraoral procedures received penicillin and oxacillin perioperatively, with nine receiving one postoperative dose and 27 receiving an average of seven postoperative doses (regimen B). One infection was observed in the regimen A group, and three were observed in the regimen B group. This infection rate compares favorably to that encountered in the authors' previously reported study on longer prophylactic courses of antibiotics.